Good Enough
by toxic-blur
Summary: Kurt sighed against Dave's lips.  It was a small thing, really. A tiny little noise of contentment. But to Dave Karofsky, it was everything.
1. Good Enough

A/N: Hey guys! Even though I ship Kurtofsky hardcore, this is my first attempt at a fic for them. It's a songfic based on Evanescence's "Good Enough". (It was originally a oneshot, but I got a few requests to make it multi-chapter, and I squee'd and did so.)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Glee, and I don't own Evanescence. But, oh, the things I would do to Amy Lee if I did. ;P

_Under your spell again_  
_I can't say no to you_  
_Crave my heart and it's bleeding in your hand_  
_I can't say no to you._

Kurt sighed against Dave's lips. It was a small thing, really. A tiny little noise of contentment. But to Dave Karofsky, it was everything. For the past two weeks since Kurt's return to McKinley, Dave's life had revolved around such noises, and the ways in which he could elicit them.

Maybe it wasn't perfect. Dave still wasn't out, so their trysts were relegated to janitor's closets and unoccupied bathrooms. But somehow, nothing else seemed important when he was alone with Kurt. He was consumed now, swept away by Kurt's beauty. He hadn't expected that the smaller boy would ever have been able to even just forgive him, let alone embrace him the way he did now. As Dave covered Kurt's jawline with soft kisses and pulled him close, he thought that if he were any more thankful for this boy's forgiveness, for his _existence_, his heart might explode.

_Shouldn't let you torture me so sweetly_  
_ Now I can't let go of this dream_  
_I can't breathe but I feel_  
_ Good enough _  
_I feel good enough for you._

x-x-x-x

After all he'd done, he still sometimes doubted that he deserved to be in Kurt's presence. But with each caress of Kurt's flawless skin, with each kiss pressed to his perfect lips, Dave felt that maybe he was slowly making up for their past. He was trying with every touch to prove that he really had changed; that he really _was_ good enough.

He didn't want it to only be like this forever. He wanted to be with Kurt. He pictured himself walking down the hallways with one arm draped casually over Kurt's shoulder, with Kurt's head on his chest and his hand in his back pocket. And if anybody disapproved of the sight of them, they'd be met with a defiant glare from the two in return. He realized that he wasn't scared anymore. He realized that it was finally time to come out.

_And I'm still waiting for the rain to fall_  
_ Pour real life down on me _  
_'Cause I can't hold on to anything_  
_ This good enough _  
_Am I good enough _  
_For you to love me, too?_

He hadn't expected the conversation with Kurt about his impending announcement to go like this. It had been derailed with just five words.

"Dave, we need to talk." Kurt said.

Dave searched the smaller boy's face. It was contorted into a look that Dave had never seen there before. "I thought we already were?" he questioned, ignoring the pinch in his chest.

Kurt sighed. Another four words, and Dave instantly understood the purpose of this conversation. "Blaine's coming to McKinley."

Dave exhaled and nodded. He decided to play dumb. "Uh-huh. Well, that's cool. I know he's one of your best friends, so that's.. yeah. Really cool."

Kurt allowed himself to smile momentarily. "Yeah, I'm really happy. But, Dave, it means that there needs to be some clarification on what this is and what it isn't." Kurt gestured back and forth between them a few times for effect. It wasn't needed. Dave knew exactly what he was saying. And that look was back, but this time Dave recognized what it was. It was guilt.

Dave steadied himself. He hesitated, unsure if he wanted to ask the next question, already fearing he knew the answer. "So then, what are we?"

Kurt bit his lip slightly and shrugged his shoulders. "I've been wondering that. I suppose we're.. friends? With makeout benefits, of course."

Dave eyes were fixed on Kurt's mouth. He could hardly process those words. "F-friends with benefits? That's.. that's what you think this is?"

Kurt shot Dave a confused look. "I.. yeah. What did you think it was?"

Dave's mouth opened and closed a few times. Did Kurt just say '_was_'? He didn't want to talk anymore. His heart was in a vice-grip and he wished he could dissolve into the floor. "I don't know. I guess maybe I thought it was something more."

Kurt eyed him pitifully. "Oh. I didn't realize you'd ever.. oh. I, uh. Dave, I'm sorry. But I just never thought of you a-"

Dave cut him off. "I get it. You don't think I deserve to be with you. And you're probably right. Plus, hey, what would your friends say if they knew about us? They'd warn you to get away from me in a second, I'm sure."

Kurt looked pained. "That's not what I'm- I just think that I shouldn't get too serious with anyone right now. Keep it light, you know? See what's out there. And you- you should do the same."

Dave's jaw clenched; a tidal wave of emotions threatened to overwhelm him at any moment, and he was desperate to bite back the words that hung on his lips. One more look into Kurt's eyes, though, and his lips betrayed him. "Kurt, I don't want to see what's out there. I only want _you_."

Kurt placed his hand flat against Dave's chest. "You say that now, but how do you know you mean it if you never even look at anyone else?"

Dave's hand covered Kurt's. "No. No, Kurt. I am so sure, I.. I love you."

Kurt pulled his hand away and took a few steps back from Dave. "If you love me, Dave, then let me go. This is for the best." Kurt responded, eyes cast down to the grayish-brown concrete floor.

Dave opened his mouth to protest, but his utter devastation left him unable to form words. Instead, he gave Kurt one last dejected look before throwing the door open and tearing off down the hallway. He didn't look back to see if Kurt was watching him; the tears had started streaming down his face as soon as he had touched the doorknob and he'd be damned if Kurt was going to see him cry.

x-x-x-x

Dave Karofsky's gaze lingered forlornly on Kurt and Blaine as they traversed McKinley's hallway together, all silly grins and giggles. They walked with an elegant stride, practically gliding along, so contentedly immersed in their own conversation that they seemed to completely disregard all other inhabitants of the hallway. As they passed him by, Kurt looked back at him over his shoulder twitched the corners of his mouth into a small smile. Dave gave the slightest nod in return. He watched them walk away, beating back every urge that was gnawing at his insides. Kurt's words reverberated in his head. _This is for the best_.

Dave hated it, he really did. But he was stuck. All he could do now was wait, and hope that Kurt would eventually realize what he already knew to be true. Dave was good enough. He was good enough to realize that Kurt deserved to be completely, unendingly happy; even if it couldn't be with him.

Dave sighed as Kurt and Blaine disappeared around the corner. He closed his locker and headed off down the hallway in the opposite direction.

_So take care what you ask of me_  
_'Cause I can't say no._


	2. Starless

A/N: Okay, first and fucking foremost, thank you for the reviews and the gentle nudges for me to add to this. I love you guysss! Uhm, so, yeah. There are some choice bad words in here, so just sayin'. Fuckity-fuck, ya dig? Also, I think I've decided to use a different song/songs as the theme of each new chapter. I used two in this one, "The Deep End" and "Starless", both by Crossfade.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Glee, Crossfade, or any of the other shit about to be name-dropped.

Well, _fuck_. Acting like a well-adjusted human being hadn't lasted long for Dave Karofsky. He wasn't sure now how he'd managed to stumble through those first few days under the very inaccurate notion that feigning emotional stability meant he really was okay.

However he kept it together, it didn't matter. On day four, he broke down.

Every movie about a mismatched-but-somehow-perfect pair falling hopelessly in love reminded him of how he and Kurt just fit together in a way that felt so fucking right. Every song on the radio was an obvious attempt by some unseen force to kick him while he was so clearly still down. He'd change the station to flee from the clutches of a song about newfound romance, only to stumble upon a song about gut-wrenching heartbreak. _Fucking awesome._

The only remotely tolerable music he found to break the silence were a few especially significant songs by Crossfade, which he kept on repeat these days.

_Another wasted Saturday so here I stay_  
_ Where nothing seems to ever change anyway, hey_  
_ All this hype about life being great_  
_But where's the love for me these days_  
_ I'm going off the deep end._

He barely ever left his room, save for school, showering, and the occasional hunger grab. He hadn't felt the need, because by his most precise estimation, there was exactly _nothing_ out there for him anymore.

On a rare outing to 7-11 for a slushie and Slim Jim run, Dave's gaze lingered on a police officer who was thoroughly engrossed in making the tough decision between Hustler and Playboy. Dave side-eyed the officer's gun. He contemplated making a blind grab for it, in the hopes that the end result might be a bullet through his face. He decided against it. _He'd probably just tase me._

The 'ways-I-could-die' game was a new favorite of Dave's. As a matter of fact, most of the thoughts sloshing around in his mind were pretty damn disturbing lately. Dave shrugged it off. It wasn't like he had anybody to be worried about him, anyway. He'd think whatever twisted shit he wanted until nothing affected him anymore. Besides, it wasn't like he actually wished for death or anything, just that he really didn't give a dirty fuck about living.

It was days like this that he'd wonder what Kurt would think if he saw him now. That's if he could spare some time from his jam-packed schedule of fawning over Blaine to even toss a glance in Dave's direction. As far as he knew, Kurt and Blaine still weren't officially together, but they sure as shit acted like it. It wasn't like Dave cared, he really fucking didn't, but if he did care at all it'd probably kill him to see the two of them walking down the halls every day together, arms interlinked as they babbled enthusiastically about _whatever._ I mean, hypothetically, if Dave were to have even been paying attention to the occurence of something like that. Three fucking times in the past week. Well, three-and-a-half, if you counted that time their hands just barely brushed against each other. Not that Dave noticed that.

Maybe it was selfish, but Dave wanted nothing more now than to forget that everything with Kurt had ever happened. He didn't want to hate him, or even to hate the near-stranger who had successfully crowded him out of Kurt's life. He just wanted to finally be done with the whole scene. It had been a small eternity, if he was honest, since the first time he recognized that the stirrings he felt in Kurt's presence weren't exactly hatred. The more he admitted to himself, the harder he had fought, until he couldn't anymore. And now that a brand new battle was raging, Dave was just so _tired_.

_I gotta get you out of my veins_  
_ I gotta get you out of my blood_  
_ I gotta get you out of my scene_  
_ I gotta get you out of me._

If Dave had been so inclined, he could've easily taken Kurt's sudden disinterest in him as an opportunity to pine over him from afar like some kind of pathetic tool. But that was definitely not some shit that Dave fucking Karofsky would do. So he certainly wasn't watching when Kurt ran stealthily up behind Finn and jumped onto his back like some kind of ninja. And he definitely hadn't witnessed Kurt's adorable victory dance after having won an impromptu thumb-wrestling match against Mike Chang. And if he happened to be walking past the choir room during a Glee club meeting and his ears had caught the sound of what was unmistakably Kurt's beautifully lilting voice, Dave's stomach didn't flutter and his breath didn't catch in his throat. He was too big and bad to be pressed over _Kurt Hummel._ And he would repeat that to himself like a trusted mantra, until he finally started to believe it.

_How I feel like I'm starless_  
_ I'm ready to fade now_  
_ And how I feel like I'm starless_  
_ I'm hopeless and grayed out _  
_Somehow I feel like I'm starless_  
_ I'm ready to fade now _  
_And now I feel like I'm starless _  
_I'm ready to burn out._


	3. Haunted

A/N: Hello lovers. ;) So, this is probably going to be the last chapter featuring sadsack!Dave. Imaboutta fix him up real nice. Yessir. So, the song for this chapter is "Haunted" by Taylor Swift. It hit me that it's kind of perfect for them, in the context of this story, at least. Oh, and hey: EXTRA-HUGE THANK YOU to the people who are reviewing each chapter. I love you all, and your input is very welcomed, indeed.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee. I do not own Taylor Swift. I do not like disclaimers.

_You and I walk a fragile line_  
_ I have known it all this time_  
_ But I never thought I'd live to see it break_  
_ It's getting dark, and it's all too quiet _  
_And I can't trust anything now_  
_ And it's coming over you like it's all a big mistake_

Dave's face was buried deep in his pillow. In the darkness of his room, he let out the heaving sobs that he'd been holding back all day. He'd quickly realized that one particularly nasty side effect of the denial method was the inevitable emotional spillover, so he settled into a pattern of working the blank-faced, stoic routine at school, then falling apart in his bedroom every evening.

He knew he was being a pathetic mess. He was fully aware that he was acting like he had some kind of borderline personality disorder. But he also had no righteous clue what to do to pull himself out of it. Maybe his recovery could be accelerated if Hummel would stop being an asshat and just _talk to him_ once in a fucking while. But here it was, two weeks to the day that Kurt ripped his heart out, and still not one word had been spoken between them.

It wasn't a planned encounter. Dave wasn't shadowing him or anything; he'd put a quick end to that habit the week before, the instant he finally realized that's what he was doing. Dave didn't enjoy feeling like a creeper, so he had taken the appropriate steps to avoid any and all known Kurt-zones. So en route to his English class when he spotted Kurt standing alone against a bank of lockers, Dave froze. Before he could be seen, he quickly ducked around the corner and pressed his back against the wall. The last part was unnecessary, of course, but Dave suddenly felt like he needed to steady himself. He took a deep breath and muttered a few choice words at himself for acting like such a pansy. It was a now-or-never kind of moment. He could seize the opportunity and attempt a conversation with Kurt without any interruptions from his obnoxious little hobbit of a boyfriend, or he could walk past and completely ignore him. Make it clear to Kurt how little he was fazed by the whole fucking thing. Dave knew it wasn't really a decision; he'd made up his mind the second he saw him.

"Hey, Kurt." Dave half-mumbled. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his letterman jacket. He knew he must look laughably timid. But he was nervous, and for some reason when he was scared or nervous his hands just gravitated to his pockets. He managed a feeble but passable smile.

Kurt's head snapped up from looking at his cell phone. He smiled. Full-on smiled that big smile right at Dave. "Dave. Hey.." He punched a couple of things on his screen and tucked his cell phone into his jacket pocket. He shifted his attention back up to Dave and looked him in the eyes. "Uh, how've you been?"

Dave had to laugh a little at the absurdity of that question. _You don't want to know, Hummel._

"Good. I've been really good." Dave lied, breaking eye contact in the process. He either didn't want to look Kurt in the face and bullshit him, or he was worried that Kurt would notice the glint of pain in his eyes and instantly see right through his facade. Maybe both.

Kurt's gaze swept over the other boy's face, meticulously studying it. Dave wasn't looking, but he could feel it. After a few moments of sheer agony for Dave, Kurt finally pressed his lips together and nodded. "Well then, that's good."

Dave's eyes cast down to the floor. "So, where's the boyfriend? Couldn't help noticing that he isn't glued to your side today."

There was an awkward silence at the mention of the word "boyfriend." Kurt shifted slightly, and Dave brought his gaze back up to meet the big hazel eyes in front of him.

"Oh, he's around somewhere." Kurt said, with a wave of his hand and a half-smile.

Dave bit down hard on the inside of his cheek. _Blaine is officially Kurt's boyfriend. Fuck._

Kurt eyed Dave in a manner that Dave thought must be morbid curiosity; like slowing down to eye-fuck the scene of a car crash. "Why do you ask?"

Dave gave his best apathetic shrug. "Just wondered."

Kurt's eyelashes fluttered as his face took on a decidedly sad expression. "Dave, I-"

The rest of Kurt's sentence was abruptly interrupted by the shrieking of the late bell. Dave shook his head in an attempt to uncloud his thoughts. "Yeah. Uh, let's talk some other time, maybe."

Kurt just nodded as Dave turned away and started back down the hall.

Dave took a few calculated steps before he tossed the words over his shoulder. "Later, Hummel." And then he walked away, ignoring the tugging in his chest and the sickeningly strong desire to know what Kurt might have been about to say.

Dave coasted through the rest of his classes on auto-pilot. His brain was stuck on the beauty of cerulean eyes, and those perfect lips saying his name.

_Come on, come on don't leave me like this_  
_ I thought I had you figured out _  
_Something's gone terribly wrong _  
_You're all I wanted _  
_Come on, come on don't leave me like this_  
_ I thought I had you figured out _  
_Can't breathe whenever you're gone _  
_Can't turn back now, I'm haunted_

Later that night as he tossed and turned in bed, Dave had a revelation. _I still have to come out._ It probably should have been obvious to him, but it had slipped his mind in the midst of all the emotional chaos of late. It might not bring Kurt back to him, but it might just bring him closer to Kurt. And Dave was all for that, any way it was possible. Besides, honestly, Dave had felt more alone since admitting to himself that he was gay than he ever had in the preceding years that he'd spent trying to fight it off. Dave thought it would be pretty damn decent to have some friends who really cared about him; friends who'd love and accept him for who he truly is. But he knew he'd never have that until he fully accepted himself. _It's time._

Dave's decision was made. _Tomorrow._ Tomorrow, they'd all know.

_You and I walk a fragile line_  
_ I have known it all this time _  
_Never ever thought I'd see it break _  
_Never thought I'd see it_


	4. The Shape Of Things To Come

A/N: Hey! I'm sorry for the delayed update, I had some pretty major writer's block. You'll see why. Review if you like it, but please don't make fun of my song or I'll likely weep.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Glee or The Ramones.

Kurt was chewing on his lower lip, thinking back to _that day_ and how it had absolutely not gone anything like he'd planned. The thing was, he liked Blaine a lot, but it hit him hard how much he missed Dave. The boy had all but disappeared from his sight over the past few weeks, giving Kurt only the quickest glimpses as he hurried down the hallway, obviously staying as far away from him as possible. This was so far from the Dave he had grown accustomed to; even the old version of Dave who mercilessly bullied him would have put in more personal appearances by now. Maybe Kurt had no right to be bothered by Dave's sudden lack of presence, but bothered he was. So that morning, he had told Blaine that he wasn't feeling well and would be going to the nurse's office, but that Blaine should go on ahead to his next class. Then he ducked around the corner and pulled out his phone. He was halfway through sending a text to Dave when he heard it.

"Hey, Kurt" Dave said in a voice that Kurt could almost swear had wobbled for a moment.

Kurt's breath caught in his throat. It took a few seconds for him to compose himself enough to look up at the boy who was standing rather awkwardly in front of him. He allowed his gaze to flicker over Dave, taking in everything about him in a way that he hadn't been able to in weeks. He looked so adorable, Kurt thought, with his hands jammed into his pockets and that look on his face that Kurt couldn't quite place. He said a warm hello and quickly discarded the suddenly unnecessary text. He asked Dave how he was doing, and his heart ached when the bigger boy immediately broke eye contact. Kurt couldn't remember ever feeling more guilty than he did in that moment, watching Dave pretend that Kurt hadn't destroyed him. Kurt squirmed a little as Dave changed the subject... to _Blaine_. He tried to dismiss it, but the sudden increase in tension was all too apparent.

Kurt felt his eyes watering, and he bit his lip to stop it from quivering. He breathed in for a moment to steady his emotions, trying to will himself not to say anything in the intensity of this moment that he knew he shouldn't be saying. And then he started to say it anyway. "Dave, I-"

And then the bell rang, and Dave was off like a flash, muttering a sort-of goodbye as he turned his back and left Kurt there with words still desperately clinging to his tongue. _I'm sorry. I miss you so much more than you know._

He shouldn't still be thinking about this. Not with this much intensity. Not while he was sitting next to his boyfriend. And definitely not at glee practice, where he was virtually surrounded by people who he knew wouldn't approve of the inner battle that was currently raging in his head. Kurt's inner dialogue had gone on uninterrupted by the goings-on of glee, but it all came to a screeching halt when there was a knock on the choir room door, followed by an all-too-familiar voice speaking in a hushed tone to a rather caught-off-guard-looking Mr. Schuester.

Before Kurt could even process what was happening, Mr. Schue had opened the door, and Dave was walking cautiously but determinedly to the center of the room.

Kurt could feel Blaine looking at him, but he couldn't take his eyes off of Dave.

The very obviously nervous jock managed a shaky smile at everyone, and Kurt noticed that his hands were jammed into his pockets yet again. Kurt smiled slightly to himself, delighted to have discovered this adorable quirk of Dave's. He shook his head and continued to watch Dave, looking increasingly more nervous. Kurt glanced around at the other glee kids and saw that their faces were all pretty much registering bewilderment and apprehension, but not hostility. Kurt was thankful for that. He watched with an intense curiosity as Dave began to speak, his voice unmistakably wobbly this time.

"Uh, hey. I asked Mr. Schuester if I could talk to you all for a minute, and he said it'd be okay. I'll be quick, I promise. I know you guys probably have a lot going on. I have something to say that I eventually plan to tell everyone, but I wanted you all to be the first to know because, well, I've been really shitty to a lot of you, and it was all pretty much because I didn't know how to come to terms with this- with the fact that I'm gay." Dave said, his gaze darting around nervously, never resting on Kurt.

The room fell silent. Kurt had expected gasps, or expletives, or maybe Rachel fainting, but none of it happened. They all just stared in shocked silence at an uneasy Dave.

Mr. Schuester was the first one to speak. "Wow, Dave, well I think we're all really proud of you for being able to admit that, and it's great that you decided to come to us first and-"

"Wait," Dave interjected, "I'm not done yet. I have something else I wanted to- well, since you guys all seem to sing about your feelings and shit, I wanted to maybe sing a song for you all, just to say I'm sorry."

Kurt sat up in his chair, clutching his lapel, stunned. He had never heard Dave sing before, and suddenly he needed it like oxygen.

"But then I couldn't find one that said everything I wanted to say." Dave continued.

Kurt frowned.

Dave bit his lip before he spoke again, unsure if he could go through with it. "So I wrote one, instead."

Mr. Schuester raised both eyebrows in surprise, then he smiled. "Of course, Dave. We'd all love to hear it, wouldn't we?" he said, looking out at the glee club. They all nodded and muttered 'mhmms'.

Kurt stared. Just stared. He was hit with such a rush of excitement that he was fairly certain he'd stopped breathing.

Dave smiled nervously and gestured towards an acoustic guitar propped up against a bookcase. "May I?"

Mr. Schue just smiled and nodded.

Kurt would have never imagined that Dave could play so beautifully. He closed his eyes momentarily, getting lost in Dave's strumming, only opening them again when Dave began to sing.

_Once upon a time I lived in envy_  
_ Of all of you just sparkling in the spotlight_  
_Feeling like a monster in the shadows _  
_I couldn't help but watch you from the outside_

_I can't remember ever feeling okay_  
_ Between the self-hate and the mistakes that I've made _  
_So I put you on a pedestal and watched you from the ground _  
_Then I shook it and I waited for you all to tumble down_

_So this is my apology_  
_ To all of those who've seen _  
_The weakest side of me_  
_Maybe there's nothing to say _  
_To take all of the hurt away _  
_Just know that this is where that story ends _  
_I swear I'll never take that road again_

_I put up walls to keep you out_  
_ So content that you would never break through_  
_ I said so many hurtful words _  
_And held back all the ones I really meant to_

_I knew what I wanted, but tried to keep my distance_  
_ And found that subtlety's something that I lack_  
_ So I pushed you just to feel you for a moment _  
_And I broke that day when you finally pushed me back_

_So this is my apology _  
_To all of those who've seen _  
_The weakest side of me _  
_And if I found I could undo _  
_All the pain that I've caused you _  
_Please know that I would never hesitate_  
_ I'm so sorry for each one of my mistakes_

_And to the boy with all the scars _  
_You're on my mind, and in my heart _  
_Forever now, and I just can't deny _  
_I still can't help but watch you _  
_From the outside._

Kurt wanted to cry. That voice was so devastatingly gorgeous, and knowing that Dave meant every single word made his stomach flip and his heart race.

He tore his eyes away from Dave and looked around to gauge everyone's reaction. Finn was staring, mouth agape. Rachel was misty-eyed, and so were Tina and Quinn. Puck was stone-faced. Mercedes' hand was covering her mouth, and Kurt briefly wondered if she might be angry, but then she moved her hand and smiled softly at Dave, which Dave reciprocated. Kurt grinned at the exchange before he looked over at Santana, who was crying into Sam's shirt. Sam had draped an arm over her and was holding her snugly to him.

Dave took it all in, seemingly in the same order that Kurt had, stopping lastly on Santana. "Um, I'm sorry if I upset any of you with that. I should- I should go. I have to go and tell the rest of the guys from the team, anyway."

The hair on the back of Kurt's neck prickled at the sheer danger of that thought. He opened his mouth to protest, but was suddenly cut off.

"Wait," Santana said, standing up quickly and sniffling. "I'm going with you."

Dave's couldn't hide his surprise. "I- no, you don't have to do that."

Santana just shook her head. "It's not up for discussion."

And with that, Sam stood. "I'm going, too."

Over on the far side of the room, Puck stood silently and shot Dave an intense look. He didn't need to say anything; his intentions were clear.

Kurt started to stand up, but then he felt a hand on his leg, urging him back down. He looked over at Blaine, his dark eyes screaming, voice coming out a low rumble. "Absolutely not, Kurt. We are staying right here."

Kurt opened his mouth, readying himself to argue, but he looked up to see Dave, Santana, Sam, and Puck already walking out the door. _He probably wouldn't have wanted me there, anyway._

Kurt sighed and leaned into Blaine's shoulder, resigning himself to the notion of waiting it out with the rest of the glee club. He trusted that Dave was in capable hands, but he still wished that he could be there for extra moral support.

Blaine nudged Kurt. "Stop worrying. He'll be fine." he said, a bit too dismissively for Kurt's liking.

The more time that passed, the more Kurt was certain that something had gone terribly wrong. What if the football team had decided to gang up on Dave and the four of them combined weren't enough to fight all of the angry jocks off? Kurt shivered as he imagined Dave lying on the floor, beaten and bloodied. He attempted to shake the thoughts from his mind, but they steadily crept back in. He clenched his fists and stared at the clock, his patience worn just about as thin as it could be without vanishing altogether.

It was a little over an hour before they returned. Kurt sighed with relief upon seeing that Dave was not only intact but looked altogether unharmed. Kurt glanced briefly over at Blaine, and cocked an eyebrow at the expression on his face. His mouth was an almost perfect straight line, and his eyes were almost cold. He noticed Kurt looking at him and his face softened slightly. "See? Told you. He's fine."

Kurt just nodded.

On the other side of the room, Dave was trying as hard as he could not to look at Kurt. It was amazing, really, that all of the emotional strain of that entire day still somehow paled in comparison to the thumping of his heart whenever he was in Kurt's presence.

Suddenly self-conscious, Dave looked around the room one last time, darting quickly over the area where he knew Kurt and Blaine were sitting. He looked back over to the three who were standing next to him, and his lip quivered as he spoke. "Th-thank you guys, so much for that. I honestly don't know if I could have gotten through that without you."

Dave turned to face the rest of the club. "And thank you all for listening to me, and for not judging me when you have every right to. I wish I had realized sooner how awesome you all are." And with that he smiled warmly and turned to leave.

"Whoa, wait a minute!" shouted Finn. "You're just gonna leave now, after all that?"

Dave turned back around and looked at Finn perplexedly. "Well, yeah? I mean I think I've bothered you all enough at this point, and I should probably get out of here before I do something to screw this up again."

Finn shook his head and looked at Rachel, imploring her with his eyes. Rachel nodded knowingly at Finn and stood up. "He's right, David. You belong here, with us."

Dave's hands were reflexively back in his jacket pockets. He tried to argue, but Quinn cut him off. "I know what you're going to say, Dave, and save it. I didn't think I deserved to be in this club at first, either, but it ended up being the best thing that's ever happened to me. And it will be for you, too. So please stay."

Another attempt to decline was cut off by Finn. "Come on, man. You sing like a beast. In a good way. Your voice is so-"

"Epic!" came Tina's response. Mike was next to her, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah," Santana added, smiling at Dave. "We never would have expected that you could perform like that. And now that we know, we kind of have to have you."

Dave was almost sold now, in spite of his raging insecurity; but there was one other person whose approval he knew he needed before he could agree. He dared a glance over at Kurt, and eyed him questioningly.

Kurt smiled and nodded.

"Okay," Dave said, "I guess I'm in."

Everyone clapped and cheered. Well, _almost_ everyone.

Kurt elbowed Blaine and shot him a hard glare until Blaine reluctantly clapped, too.

Mr. Schue was just as thrilled as everybody else, but he still had to be the one to break up the merriment. "Okay, everybody. As great as it is that we have a new member, we really do need to get right back into the swing of things. This is still a practice. Does anybody have anything that they'd like to sing?"

Dave surprised himself by being the first to speak up. "Well, uh- I actually had a song stuck in my head on the way back here. It might be a cool one to try."

Mr. Schue smiled. "The floor is yours once again, Dave."

Dave smiled. "Actually, I'm gonna need help with this one." He motioned to Finn, Puck, Artie, and Sam, and they all huddled up briefly before taking their respective places. As they began to play the song, Kurt beamed. It was a good one, and Kurt had to agree, it was perfect for this moment.

_There's a new sun _  
_Risin' up angry in the sky _  
_And there's a new voice _  
_Crying "We're not afraid to die"_

_Let the old world make believe _  
_It's blind and deaf and dumb _  
_But nothing can change the shape of things to come_

_There are changes _  
_Lyin' ahead in every road _  
_And there are new thoughts_  
_ Ready and waiting to explode_

_When tomorrow is today _  
_The bell may toll for some _  
_But nothing can change the shape of things to come_

_The future's comin' in now sweet and strong _  
_Ain't no one gonna hold it back for long_

_There are new dreams _  
_Crowdin' out old realities _  
_There's revolution _  
_Sweepin' like a fresh new breeze_

_Let the old world make believe _  
_It's blind and deaf and dumb _  
_But nothing can change the shape of things_

_Nothing can change the shape of things _  
_Nothing can change the shape of things _  
_Nothing can change the shape of things to come._


	5. Nobody Ever Died Of A Broken Heart

**A/N:** Heyhey! Just wanted to thank everybody for your reviews, I appreciate all of them immensely. The parts of the song that Dave sings in this chapter are chosen deliberately, btw. _(wham-bam, thank you, ma'am!)_ Because after Max Adler said that, I had to give Dave that part of the song. So yeah. Reviews are still very much wanted, and I hope you all like this chapter. :D

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Glee or any of the other awesome things I mention.

Joining the glee club was simultaneously the best and worst decision Dave had ever made.

He was making new friends, becoming especially close with Santana and Sam. He was having a blast and discovering just how passionate he was about singing, and it really was having a positive effect on his self esteem. But if at any moment during practice he glanced to the back left side of the room, it sent his heart careening into the pit of his stomach. Dave was sure they were doing it on purpose. Being all couple-y and adorable. Blaine's arm around Kurt. Kurt's face nestled into Blaine's shirt. Giggling all the time. It killed him to see it at every practice, but Dave couldn't give up glee now. He loved it. So he opted to never, ever look in that direction. Ever. _Problem solved._

And then it happened.

Mr. Schuester explained that even though they had already previously done duets, the group dynamic had changed considerably with the addition of new members, and he added, eyeing Rachel and Finn, "Besides, some of you didn't really give it your all the last time. So this week we'll once again be performing duets. Break into pairs, guys."

Dave had barely finished processing what was said when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Santana beaming at him. "So, you wanna?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, sure. But what about Sam?"

Santana gestured over toward Sam and Rachel, who were already engaged in a very important-sounding conversation about song selection. Santana shrugged. "I'm gonna go ahead and say he'll be just fine without me."

Dave chuckled and smiled back at her. "Looks that way. So, should we maybe get together later today?"

Santana nodded. "My place or yours?"

Dave was just about to respond when he heard it. Kurt's voice cutting through the din of all the various conversations that filled the room.

"Mr. Schue, Blaine and I would like to perform our duet now." Kurt said. "We feel that any practice would be an unnecessary waste of our time."

Next to him, Blaine nodded his head, a slight smirk creeping over his face.

Mr. Schuester looked back and forth between the two of them, eyebrows crept halfway up his forehead. Then he shrugged. "I-uh. Alright then, guys. Come on up."

Dave could feel his heart sliding down before they even started to sing. As the piano began, recognition of the song suddenly hit Dave. He wished so badly that he could bolt from the room, but he didn't want to cause a scene and make a total ass of himself. So he clenched his jaw and prepared himself for what was coming.

_Love wandered inside_  
_ Stronger than you _  
_Stronger than I_  
_ And now that it has begun _  
_We cannot turn back _  
_We can only turn into one_

_I won't ever be too far away to feel you _  
_And I won't hesitate at all _  
_Whenever you call_  
_ And I'll always remember _  
_The part of you so tender_  
_ I'll be the one to catch your fall _  
_Whenever you call_

Dave wanted to die. He wished for a lightning strike. Or a meteorite. Or a wrathful God. Anything to make it stop.

_And I'm truly inspired_  
_ Finding my soul _  
_There in your eyes _  
_And you _  
_Have opened my heart _  
_And lifted me inside _  
_By showing me yourself _  
_Undisguised_

After that, he forced himself to stop listening. It was hard to ignore Kurt's gorgeous voice, but if he listened to the lyrics he'd only want to scream that Kurt should be singing about him. _With him_. And no good could come from that. So he stared at the floor and repeated the lyrics to "Baby Got Back" in his head. As silly as it undoubtedly sounded, it effectively kept him from bursting into tears.

Dave was the first one out the door when glee practice was over. He made it to his truck in record time and peeled out of the parking lot. He was truly sick of crying, but the vice-grip around his heart was bombarding his senses, and the tears came in spite of him. He blinked them back and focused on not swerving off the road. He already felt like a wreck; the last thing he needed was to actually be in one.

When he made it home, he went straight to his room and began his well-practiced sulking process. He had it almost down to a science now. First he'd cry until he felt numb, then he'd punch something, then he'd take a scalding hot shower and watch a movie. A violent movie, completely devoid of any trace of romance. That last part was key; in the early stages he'd mistakenly chosen to watch Moulin Rouge, and it hadn't gone so well. So now he was careful to choose something with gratuitous violence and absolutely no love to be found.

He was loading Reservoir Dogs into his dvd player when he got a text. Santana.

_Open your door. :)_

Dave grumbled, threw a shirt on, and went downstairs to answer the door. He sighed, opened the door, and was greeted by the sight of Santana and Sam on his doorstep.

"Uh, hey." Dave said, attempting to smile.

"Geez, man. You look like hell." Sam said, eyes wide.

Santana smacked Sam lightly on the arm and shot him her best 'shut up you're not helping' look. Then she turned her gaze to Dave. "So are you gonna let us in, or what?"

Dave reluctantly moved to the side and ushered them in. He wasn't sure how he felt about this intrusion. He was glad to finally have real friends, but he had planned on sulking for at least the rest of the day, and probably the better part of the weekend, so he wasn't really in the most social of moods.

He turned from the door to see Santana staring him down. Her lips were pursed and her hands were on her hips, and Dave was certain that her intense gaze was burning a hole through him. He shook his head and looked between her and Sam. "Not that I'm not happy to see you guys, but what are you doing here?"

Sam spoke up first. "We could tell you were upset at glee, and then you left before we could make sure you were okay. So here we are." He shrugged, as if Dave should've expected that they'd show up.

Santana nodded. "I honestly think I felt your pain." She placed her hand over her heart. "Seriously, Dave, are you okay?"

Dave shifted uncomfortably. Nobody had ever really been worried about his feelings before, and he didn't know how to respond. He thought about lying and saying he was fine, but he'd been doing that with himself for long enough, and he was just exhausted. Plus, he was pretty sure that Santana's x-ray vision would see through it. "No, I'm not, but I will be eventually."

"What do you normally do when you need to be cheered up?" Sam asked.

Dave shrugged. "Usually watch a violent movie."

Santana and Sam both grinned. "Sounds awesome."

Moments later Dave was up in his room, retrieving Reservoir Dogs from the dvd player. When he got back to the living room he found Sam and Santana sitting on the couch. He got the movie started and as he turned to face them, Santana patted the spot between herself and Sam and smiled up at Dave. "C'mere."

Dave walked over and sat down between them, feeling a bit awkward. Halfway through the movie, Dave had Santana's head resting on his upper arm, and Sam's arm casually slung across his shoulders. Dave had to admit that it felt kind of nice. He felt warm and loved, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt that. Well, he could, but he wasn't going to let himself think about it.

"I'd want to be Ms. Magenta." Santana said as the closing credits came on, glancing over at the boys.

Sam grinned and nudged her playfully. "Of course you would."

Santana stuck her tongue out at him. "And you, Sam, I think you should have the gayest-sounding name imaginable. How about Mr. Periwinkle? Arguably the gayest color name ever."

Sam shrugged. "Is that supposed to bother me? Because I kind of like it. Mr. Periwinkle. Pretty sweet."

Dave was belly-laughing at the two of them.

Sam looked over at Dave. "What should Dave's be?"

Santana tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hm. I think it's a toss-up between Mr. Fuschia and Mr. Salmon." She smirked at Dave.

Sam gasped. "No! I just thought of the most epic name ever. Are you ready?"

They both stared at him.

"Mr. Goldenrod!" he said, beaming. "Get it?"

Dave shook his head and chuckled. "Oh I see what you did there, Sam. Very clever."

Santana rolled her eyes. "You are so juvenile sometimes." She glanced over at Dave. "I swear, it's like I can't take him anywhere."

Sam shrugged off her criticism and grinned at Dave. "So, Mr. Goldenrod, are you cheered up yet?"

Dave smiled back at Sam. "Yeah, actually, I think I am."

x-x-x-x-x-x

Dave fixed the collar of his shirt and smiled as he made his way to the center of the room and took his spot next to Santana. Collaborating with her had been easier than he thought it would be. They'd tossed around a few ideas before settling on a Trick Pony song that Dave had suggested. They had practiced it enough, and Dave was pretty confident that they wouldn't totally suck. Alright, maybe confident wasn't the best word for what he was feeling. He wished he could be less self-conscious and feel less like Kurt was staring a hole into the side of his head, silently judging him alongside Blaine. He smoothed his hand over his face and shook his head. Santana shot him a questioning glance, to which he responded with a slight nod of his head and a grin that said he was ready to go.

They sang first line together, voices blending perfectly.

_No, nobody, nobody ever died of a broken heart_

Then Santana took over.

_It must've hit you like a hurricane_  
_ Now you're swimmin' with a ball and chain _  
_Sweet love's gone down the drain _  
_Down, down_

Dave was bopping along next to her, grinning. He sang the next part.

_Girl you're lookin' like the walking dead_  
_ You need to drag a brush across that head_  
_The crack of noon and you're still in bed _  
_Wake up, straighten up, put on your makeup_

Dave snaked an arm around Santana's waist and swayed with her as their voices came together again.

_No, nobody, nobody ever died of a broken heart_  
_ No, nobody, nobody ever died of a broken heart_

Santana looked up at Dave and grinned before she continued.

_You cut his head out of every picture_  
_ Burned the letters where he said that he missed ya_  
_ All those memories, you can kiss 'em _  
_Bye, bye_

Dave twirled Santana before his final solo moment.

_When enough is for sure enough _  
_It's time to shake it out and shake it up_  
_ Get in the middle of a great big love_  
_ Wham-bam thank you ma'am, baby here we go again, yeah_

Dave took hold of Santana's hand as their voices united one last time.

_No, nobody, nobody ever died of a broken heart _  
_No, nobody, nobody ever died of a broken heart_

As the glee club erupted into cheers around them, Dave lifted Santana's hand to his lips and kissed it softly. He idly wondered what Kurt would think about it, but he let the thought slip from his mind as the other glee clubbers surrounded them, echoing congratulations.

Had Kurt been asked, he would have said that in that moment Dave was the epitome of charming. It was a shame nobody had asked him. It was even more of a shame that Blaine was still in his seat, arms crossed, glowering. His distaste for the brutish jock was growing exponentially by the day, and he couldn't understand for the life of him why Dave was even still around. Their smooshy lovefest of a duet should easily have devastated him enough to leave the glee club forever. _Why is he still here?_

Ever the resilient one, Blaine set out on a new course of action. He knew Kurt would be mad at him at first, but he'd get over it in time. And if he didn't, well, Blaine didn't even consider it. Kurt _always_ forgave him.

Just as Dave turned to head back to his seat, Blaine grabbed Kurt's face and pulled him into a deep kiss. Kurt made a noise like "unf!" and pulled away, but it was too late. Dave had already seen it and was bolting out the door. Blaine smirked after him. _That's why I'm the undisputed champion._

Sam was right on Dave's heels as he turned down the corridor. "Hey- hey, Dave! Wait up."

Dave shoved through the doors of the boys locker room and was relieved to find it abandoned. Sam was right behind him. He stepped in and walked silently over to Dave, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"

Dave just shook his head. Sam could feel Dave's body starting to tremble.

"Come on, dude. Don't let them get to you like this." Sam said softly.

Dave turned to face Sam. "You don't think I'm trying to ignore them at all times? It kills me to have to force myself not to look at Kurt, but I'm doing it every day so that I don't break down every time that smug little bastard touches him. It's fucking killing me, and I don't know how much longer I can take this."

And then Sam's lips were crushing Dave's, his hands trailing softly up and down Dave's back. Dave made a soft noise into his mouth. Sam couldn't tell if it was a whimper or a moan, so he forced himself to stop and pulled back to look into Dave's eyes.

"Sorry." Sam said, biting his lip.

Dave shook his head. "Don't be."


	6. Ashes and Wine

A/N: Right, so. First of all, thanks for the reviews, guys! I love you all, I hope you know. So, I wasn't sure how I was going to handle the Save kiss, and after reading the reviews it seemed like everyone's reactions were pretty evenly split down the middle. I hope what I've written is a decent enough compromise for both sides. Also, please forgive my lack of song-inclusion until the very end. I felt like it was a song that both Kurt and Dave could relate to, but I couldn't really find an appropriate spot to use it until the end of the chapter. As always, reviews are very much appreciated.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Glee, or A Fine Frenzy.

Dave eyed a sheepish-looking Sam. "I'm just kind of confused, I mean, I'm guessing this means you're.."

Sam sighed at Dave's unfinished sentence and the implications it held. "Into guys? Yeah. But that's about all I know. I have no idea what I am. If I'm bi, or if I'm gay, or if I'm just experimenting. I- I don't know. I've just felt really jumbled up lately and I'm just trying to figure myself out."

Dave nodded knowingly. "Been there. But I gotta say, you're handling it all a hell of a lot better than I ever did." He placed his hand on Sam's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "And I know I'm probably the last person to be giving advice on issues of sexual identity, but I am here for you. Whenever. Okay?"

Sam smiled a little and nodded. "Thanks, man. But I- I want to talk about what just happened first. I feel weird about leaving it like that."

Dave shrugged. "I told you, it's okay. I wasn't expecting it, but it wasn't a bad thing."

Sam sighed. "I get that, but I want you to understand where I was coming from."

Dave nodded his head towards the benches. "Come on. I get the feeling I might need to sit down for this."

"Yeah, probably not a bad idea for either of us." Sam said, chuckling lightly.

They sat across from each other on the benches, and Dave watched as Sam tugged nervously on the drawstring of his hoodie.

"Hey," Dave said, "Don't do that. It's just me. You saw how much of a wreck I was a few days ago, and you saved me from myself. After that, you have to know that if there's anybody you can talk to, it's me."

Sam bit his lip and began talking with some slight trepidation. "Do you remember our fight? You know, the one where you punched me in the eye?"

Dave looked down at the floor, shame-faced. "I do recall that, yeah."

Sam eyed him warily before continuing. "I've been watching you since then. I saw the change in you when Kurt left; you seemed so empty. Almost lifeless. And you stayed that way until Kurt came back. That's when I knew for sure that you loved him. And I guess I related, because I feel that way, too."

Dave swallowed hard and looked up at Sam. "Y-you love Kurt?"

Sam immediately shook his head. "Wait, what? No, not Kurt. He's- well, he's great, but I'm- uh, into a different type."

Dave couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh. He really didn't need anymore competition. "So then, who?"

Sam's face turned serious. "If I tell you, it doesn't leave this room. Understood?"

Dave grinned at Sam's sudden assertiveness. Then he nodded.

Sam sighed, eyes downcast as he spoke. "It's Puck."

Dave was positive that his eyes had just bulged out of his head. "_What?_ Puckerman? I mean, I guess I can see why, but isn't he, like, _painfully_ straight?"

Sam let out an exasperated groan. "And now you know what I'm dealing with."

Dave nodded sympathetically, but then a look of curiosity flashed over his face. "That still doesn't explain why you kissed me, though."

"I know," Sam said. "To be honest, I couldn't tell you exactly why I did it. I guess I just hated seeing you upset. Plus, you know, you're pretty hot."

Dave chuckled, more than willing to accept that explanation. It wasn't that Dave wouldn't have been flattered if Sam liked him, but Dave really didn't want to have the_ 'sorry, my heart belongs to Kurt'_ conversation in the boys locker room. It already held enough painful and awkward memories for him. Plus, it kind of smelled like feet. "So we're good, then? I mean, no weirdness?"

Sam grinned and extended his hand for a fist bump. "I think there's definitely weirdness, but it's not between us."

Dave smiled back and fist-bumped Sam. "Seriously, man. How did our love lives turn into such disasters?"

"No idea." Sam replied, eyeing Dave thoughtfully. Then his face changed to a look of sheer excitement. "But I just thought of something we could do that might change that."

Dave couldn't help but be intrigued. "Oh, yeah? Do tell."

x-x-x-x-x

Kurt could not believe what his eyes were telling his brain that he was seeing. There must have been a miscommunication along the way, because this twisted little scene certainly couldn't actually be happening. Or maybe, maybe he was going crazy. Maybe all of the psychological and physical abuse he'd suffered in the past had finally rendered him completely batshit. Either explanation seemed significantly better than accepting that he'd actually seen what he thought he just saw. Because that would mean that Dave really had just swaggered into the choir room, hand-in-hand with Sam.

As the two sauntered over to two empty seats next to each other, Kurt noticed that he wasn't the only one watching them. All eyes were on Sam and Dave, who were grinning like madmen and sitting way too close to one another. Or, at least, too close for Kurt's liking.

Santana spoke first. "You switching teams on us, Evans?" she said, shooting him a razor-sharp glare.

Sam seemed a little taken aback by her demeanor, but he kept a smile on his face as he stood and faced everyone.

"That's right," Sam said, emboldened. "I'm here, I'm at-least-partly queer. Get used to it." He eyed Santana momentarily before taking his seat next to Dave.

Dave gave Sam a proud smile and took his hand again, squeezing it just tight enough.

"Huh," Blaine said quietly to Kurt. "Isn't this an interesting development."

Kurt blinked. _What the fuck is happening, here?_ His mind was racing as he navigated through the thoughts that steadily invaded it. _I called it. Wait, so Sam just didn't like **me**. But Dave and Sam, really? TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM, DAMNIT._

Kurt nodded. "Yeah. Interesting."

Blaine didn't seem to notice that Kurt had fallen silent for the rest of practice, but Kurt didn't mind being ignored this time. He didn't want to have to explain his current symptoms of absolute heartbreak to his boyfriend, anyway.

x-x-x-x-x

Sam and Dave were in the hallway after practice, waiting for Santana. She walked out with Brittany and Artie, saying a quick goodbye to them when she noticed the boys standing there. She strode over to Sam and flashed him the same dagger-eyed look from earlier. "What the fuck were you thinking?"

Sam clenched his jaw and eyed her for a moment before speaking. "_I'm sorry_, okay? I'm really sorry. But I can't hide who I am anymore, and neither should you."

Santana looked at Sam like he'd just kicked her puppy. "Way to keep a secret, Sammy." she said, glancing over at a wide-eyed Dave.

Dave shifted uncomfortably and hitched his bag up onto his shoulder. "I should go. You guys obviously need to talk in private."

Santana pressed her lips together and shook her head. "No. I'm sorry, Dave. Stay. I didn't mean that I don't trust you, it's just- we've both gotten so used to hiding, I wasn't expecting Sam to just jump right on out of the closet without me."

Dave nodded. "So then you two-"

Sam interrupted his question, knowing what it was going to be. "We broke up a long time ago. I told her about my massive crush on Puck, and she told me that she's in love with Brittany. But we didn't tell anyone because it was kind of in our best interests to just let everyone think we were still together."

Santana nodded in agreement and then added, "Essentially, we're each other's big gay beards. Or at least, we were." She eyed Dave and smiled slightly. "Guess that's over now that Sam's got himself a big gay boyfriend."

Sam ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "Uh, yeah. About that. We're just-" he abruptly stopped as he saw Kurt and Blaine leaving the choir room. Sam threw his arms around Dave's neck and kissed him hard. He heard a tiny squeak and turned just in time to see Kurt and Blaine disappearing around the corner, Kurt dragging Blaine by his sleeve.

"Mission accomplished." Sam said, grinning at Dave, who was staring down the empty hallway.

Santana's gaze flicked back and forth between them. "Oh, no. You two can't possibly be serious. You're gonna, what, pretend to date and make Kurt and Puck crazy with jealousy?" She rolled her eyes at the thought. "I'm saying this because I love you guys: it will _never_ work."

Sam shrugged. "Maybe not. But there's a chance it will, and it's worth it to try. Right, Dave?"

Dave nodded, still staring down the corridor. It made sense that he'd want to make Kurt jealous, and he knew he should feel accomplished that he'd effectively gotten a reaction out of Kurt. This was a good thing. A step in the right direction. But someone else would have to tell that to the guilty pangs in the pit of his stomach, because it was apparently not about to listen to him.

_Don't know what to do anymore _  
_I've lost the only love worth fighting for _  
_And I'll drown in my tears, don't they see?_  
_And that would show you, that would make you hurt like me_

_All the same I don't want mudslinging games_  
_ It's just a shame to let you walk away_

_Is there a chance, a fragment of light _  
_At the end of the tunnel, a reason to fight?_  
_Is there a chance you may change your mind_  
_ Or are we ashes and wine?_


	7. If This Was A Movie

A/N: Hello lovelies. Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter. There's plenty of Puck and also some more scary!Blaine in this one. Hope you like it. The song is "If This Was A Movie" by Taylor Swift. (the line about six months isn't meant to apply to the story, though. I just really wanted to use that verse, so disregard that, I guess.) As always, reviews are appreciated. Also, if there are any Blaine stans reading this, you should probably not continue. You'll hate me.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Glee.

_Last night I heard my own heart beating_  
_ Sounded like footsteps on my stairs _  
_Six months gone and I'm still reaching _  
_Even though I know you're not there_  
_ I was playing back a thousand memories baby_  
_ Thinking 'bout everything we've been through _  
_Maybe I've been going back too much lately _  
_When time stood still and I had you_

x-x-x-x-x

Dave was at his locker, swapping out some books between classes. He jolted momentarily when he heard that soft voice saying his name. He took a breath, closed his locker, and turned to see Kurt leaning against the locker bank, eyeing him with purpose.

"Oh. Hey, Kurt." Dave said, with well-practiced indifference.

Kurt noted Dave's tone but continued anyway. "I never did properly congratulate you on your new beau, so congratulations." His smile was the facial equivalent of a sarcastic thumbs up. "And, you know, it's especially amazing because, back when I first met Sam, he was claiming up and down that he was straight. So as you can imagine, that's quite a feat, Dave. _Good for you._"

Okay, Dave couldn't be imagining that glint of sarcasm in Kurt's voice. He sounded bitter and insincere, and to be honest, it pissed Dave off. After all he'd been through over the past few months, all of the heartbreak he still felt every time he caught sight of Kurt with Blaine, and Kurt was giving him attitude the second he had supposedly found some happiness with a boy of his own?

"Well, first of all," Dave started, making direct eye contact with Kurt, "Sam wasn't _straight_ when you met him. He was closeted. Much like I was, except he obviously handled it better. And secondly, don't come to me with your thinly-veiled bitchy comments, Kurt. If you're not happy for me, fine. Nobody said you have to be. But I am _finally_ happy, and I owe it to Sam. I love him for that. So whatever you have to say, Kurt, it honestly doesn't matter to me at all."

Kurt's eyes flashed a look of utter hurt. Dave saw the tears welling up in them and instantly regretted opening his mouth in the first place. He didn't know Kurt cared enough about him to get this emotional over something he said, but now that he did, he wished he could go back and just say _"thanks"_ instead. But now there they were, Dave guiltily watching the tears rolling down Kurt's cheeks.

And what a moment for Finn to walk by. He stopped abruptly, taking in the scene, and then charged over to Dave, glaring accusingly at him. "What the fuck did you do, Karofsky?" he said, shifting his focus to Kurt. "Did he hurt you, Kurt?"

Kurt shook his head, mortified. "N-no, Finn, I'm fine. It's not what you think. I was being a jerk to Dave and he, well, he put me in my place. But he was right to do so." Kurt looked up into Dave's eyes. "I'm sorry, Dave."

Finn eyed them both warily for a moment before his expression turned to a mixture of relief and embarrassment. He looked at Dave and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, man. I've always kind of regretted not standing up for Kurt, and I guess now I'm a little trigger-happy when I think he needs me. You know, over- uh, what's that word.."

"Overcompensating." Kurt answered, sniffling a bit.

"Yeah, that." Finn said, briefly glancing at Kurt before he set his gaze back on Dave. "No hard feelings?"

Dave grinned and reached his hand out to Finn, who grabbed hold of it with a slight smile. Dave pulled him in for a bro-hug and patted him on the back. "Nah, man, we're cool."

Finn beamed. "Awesome."

"_Well now_, what do we have over here?" Blaine chirped with mock-enthusiasm as he strutted over.

Dave eyed the dark-haired boy momentarily, wishing that he could take back his bitingly harsh words to Kurt and give them all to Blaine instead. _Cocky little shit._

Kurt jumped slightly at Blaine's voice and Dave was a little taken aback by the unnaturally huge smile on Kurt's face. "Hey, Blaine!" Kurt said, "Oh, nothing, we were just talking about glee practice and stuff."

Dave suppressed a chuckle. He couldn't let it show how ridiculously pleased he was that Kurt had just lied to Blaine.

"I see." Blaine said, closing the gap between Kurt and himself. He eyed Kurt's puffy face and red eyes and looked bothered. "What's wrong with your face, Kurt?"

Kurt's mouth formed a little O-shape as he tried to formulate an excuse. He went with the first one that came to mind. "Allergies."

"Oh. Okay then." Blaine said, obviously not interested enough to question it. He pressed a kiss to Kurt's temple, eyes on Dave as he did so. "Let's go, baby. You don't want to make us late for our next class."

Kurt nodded at Blaine. "Right, okay. Um. Bye Finn." he said, offering a small smile. Then he turned to Dave, a glint of sadness returning to his eyes. "Bye."

Dave watched Kurt walk away, focusing on Blaine's arm slung possessively across Kurt's shoulders. His insides lurched with jealousy. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Finn squeezed Dave's shoulder before gently attempting to shake him out of his stupor. "Dave? You okay, man?"

Dave was shaken out of his own head just as he was about to shove Blaine off of a cliff. "Huh? Oh, y-yeah. I'm fine."

Finn appraised his demeanor and shook his head. "Not buying it. Wanna try again?"

Dave sighed. "I'm pretty sure you don't want to know."

"Why don't you try me anyway?" Finn said with a boyishly handsome smile.

"It's about Kurt." Dave said, with a slight warning edge to his voice.

Finn nodded. "Kinda figured. But it seems to me that whatever it is, keeping it to yourself isn't doing you much good. So just spill already."

Dave shot Finn a wary look.

Finn smiled. "Come on. I promise I won't go all scary-big-brother on you again."

Dave nodded and began tenuously speaking. "It's just- uh, I'm kind of in love with him."

Finn didn't look surprised. "Yeah, I thought as much. Does Kurt know?"

Dave shrugged. "I told him I loved him a few months back when he ditched me for Captain Tightpants. I don't think he cared."

Finn nodded. "Okay, so.. what about Sam, then? Aren't you guys together now?" He glanced off to the side as he spoke, as though the idea seemed absurd to him.

Dave eyed Finn. He knew that he should be saying something to the affirmative, but he found himself shaking his head instead.

"No. We're, uh, we're not dating. He's just helping me make Kurt jealous. And I'm helping him do the same to someone else." Dave said, sort of relieved to be talking about it to someone other than Santana and Sam.

Finn beamed. "I knew it!"

Dave grinned in spite of himself. "Oh, whatever, you did not."

Finn stopped doing his_ 'I called it'_ dance long enough to look Dave in the eyes. "No, really" he insisted. "I could tell something was off about you two. Sam's been watching Kurt all the time, and that was weird. And then you two are only ever affectionate with each other when Kurt is looking. I figured you guys out a week ago, at least."

Dave looked worried. "Does everybody know?"

Finn shook his head. "I don't think so. They're all pretty much too busy worrying about themselves to notice anything that goes on around them." he said with a roll of his eyes. "But you guys might want to be a little less obvious, or someone else will eventually figure you out. And it'll probably be Kurt."

Dave nodded slowly, looking slightly terrified. The thought of Kurt discovering their little operation made Dave feel nauseous. Kurt would undoubtedly think he's pathetic. But he and Sam had gone too far now to just abandon the effort; it would only lead to more awkwardness. Dave made a mental note to talk to Sam about hand-holding minimums and kiss quotas.

"Oh, and also. I promise it stays between us if you tell me, but the other person you're trying to make jealous," Finn asked, "It's Puck, right?"

Dave's eyes went wide. "How did you-"

Finn grinned at Dave's stunned expression. "Like I said, I'm paying attention."

x-x-x-x-x

_Come back come back come back to me like_  
_ You would you would if this was a movie_  
_Stand in the rain outside til I came out _  
_Come back come back come back to me like _  
_You could you could if you just said you're sorry _  
_I know that we could work it out somehow _  
_But if this was a movie you'd be here by now_

x-x-x-x-x

Dave had fought it for as long as he could, but inevitably settled his gaze on the back of Kurt and Blaine's heads. He'd made the mistake of letting Sam choose the seats, so there they sat, directly in front of Puck, and right behind Kurt and his hobbit. As per their discussion earlier in the day, Dave had his fingers intertwined with Sam's. He squeezed a little harder than necessary to let Sam know that he wasn't particularly happy with the seating arrangement. Sam responded with an eyeroll. "Oh my god. _I know_. I'm sorry. You can decide where we sit from now on until we die, okay?"

Puck chuckled, obviously eavesdropping. "Trouble in paradise?" he said with a grin.

Sam turned around and grinned at Puck. "Actually, no, this is just how we get each other hot for later." Then he pressed a kiss to Dave's neck.

Dave shivered from the unexpected contact and tried not to burst out laughing at Sam's improvisation.

"You are absolutely fucking brilliant," Dave whispered into Sam's ear. "If we were giving points, you'd get like a billion and five for that."

Dave stole a quick glance back at Puck and added, "By the way, dude's staring at us right now. Thought you should know."

Sam beamed. Then he gestured with his eyes to the row in front of them. "He's not the only one."

Dave followed Sam's glance over just in time to see Kurt whipping back around to face the front of the choir room.

"Wow," he said, impressed. "Not too shabby. Remind me to thank Finn."

Sam cocked an eyebrow. "Thank Finn for what?"

Dave gulped. "Uh. Okay, first of all, don't get mad. But I kind of told him about what we're doing."

"Oh my fucking- why would you do that? He can't even keep his _own_ secrets." Sam said, glaring hard at Dave.

Dave motioned for Sam to keep his voice down, noticing that Puck was staring at them again. "Shh. I know." he wrapped an arm around Sam and pulled him close, motioning behind him with his eyes. Sam sighed and reluctantly leaned into him. "I'm sorry, but just listen. Finn said he'd already figured us out, and that we were being sloppy and obvious. And he was right. At least now we're more convincing, or maybe you don't think what's happened in just the past _ten minutes_ is progress for both of us."

Sam rolled his eyes. "I really hate you right now."

Dave grinned and tousled his hair. "I know you do."

x-x-x-x-x

Mr. Schuester had a pretty bad habit of excusing himself from the choir room lately. "I'll be right back, guys!" he'd shouted over his shoulder on his way out the door.

Half an hour later, everyone was dispersed around the room, apparently having abandoned the idea of getting any real practice done. Sam was leaning with his elbows on the piano, talking to Rachel as she tinkered with the keys.

Dave's eyes wandered over to Puck, who had since moved and was sitting quietly in the front row, staring intensely at Sam's ass. _Wait, what?_

Dave looked again to be sure. He followed Puck's gaze across the room and stifled a gasp as his initial observation was confirmed.

Puck was full-on ogling Sam.

Dave smirked as he silently got up and sat in the seat behind Puck. He leaned down and spoke in a low tone, "See anything you like?"

Puck jolted. "I-uh. Um. I wasn't-"

Dave shook his head. "Don't bother denying it, man, I watched you watching him."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Puck said, his voice cracking slightly.

Dave bit back a grin and raised his hands in mock defeat. "Alright then, my mistake." He went back to his seat, more determined now than ever. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Sam.

Sam was listening to Rachel gush about Broadway shows when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and quirked an eyebrow at the text from Dave.

_Dude. Don't turn around. Just lean over the piano a little more and stick your ass out. Trust me._

Sam fought the urge to turn around and tried to focus on what Rachel was saying, leaning onto the piano even more, shifting so that his ass was more prominently displayed.

Dave watched Puck squirm in his chair. He texted Sam again.

_Now walk over to me._

Sam told Rachel he'd be right back and started across the choir room.

Dave watched with a sly grin as Puck's head swiveled to follow Sam all the way across the room._ Busted._

Sam sat down next to Dave. "Right, wanna tell me what all of that was about?"

Dave smirked. "That was about Puck blatantly checking you out."

Sam's jaw dropped open. "Are you serious?"

Dave nodded, grinning. "Fuck yeah. Looks like you've got yourself a mutual crush, dude."

Sam couldn't say anything; he just bit his lip and blushed.

x-x-x-x-x

As practice let out, Dave was actually in a pretty great mood. He'd been so distracted with the Sam and Puck situation that he hadn't really bothered to even glance over at Kurt and Blaine. It was kind of nice to not be constantly pressed over them for once. As he and Sam walked out of the choir room, though, he was met with the sight of Blaine leaning against the lockers, waiting with his arms crossed.

Dave turned to Sam and nudged him gently. "Go ahead out to the parking lot. I'll be out in a few."

Sam eyed Dave. "You sure?"

"Absolutely." Dave's voice came out in a low rumble as he crossed the hallway to where Blaine stood.

"Hello there, Davey. I think it's time you and I had a little chat." Blaine said, puffing his chest out.

Dave sighed. "And what exactly do you want to say to me?"

"Well, it's pretty simple. You should be able to follow." Blaine said, leaning in closer and shooting him a cold stare. "_Kurt is mine._ And whatever you've deluded yourself into believing is between you, it isn't. So kindly move along, because there is _nothing_ for you here."

Dave couldn't lie, Blaine's cold, over-confident attitude chilled him a little. He shook his head and forced himself to maintain contact with the dark, piercing eyes in front of him. "There's nothing between me and Kurt. I've given up on that, and I'm with Sam now. So I don't know why you're-"

"_I SEE HOW HE LOOKS AT YOU._" Blaine loudly declared, momentarily abandoning his icy, unemotional demeanor. He cleared his throat and continued in his scary-calm tone. "And I don't like it. He obviously loves me, but for whatever reason, he's infatuated with you, and it will stop. Or else."

Dave rolled his eyes. "Listen, you arrogant little shit, I am not scared of you. There's nothing you can do to me-"

Blaine chuckled softly and shook his head. "Oh, Davey. You silly boy. It isn't_ you_ that you should be worried about."

Dave inhaled deeply, eyeing the smaller boy for signs of a bluff. He was met with a cold, emotionless stare. "If you do_ anything_ to hurt Kurt, I swear-"

Blaine outright laughed in Dave's face. "Well, isn't this an unexpected twist. Do you remember when these roles were reversed? Tell me, Davey. Could you feel it then?"

Dave glared impatiently down at him. "Feel what?"

Blaine grinned smugly, eyes flashing. "That even back then, _I_ was in control."

Dave shook his head in disbelief. "You're a fucking psychopath."

Blaine shrugged his shoulders and bit his lip, considering the term. "You might be right. But I'm also the boyfriend of the boy you love, and if I'm as unstable as you think I am, you might want to avoid pissing me off."

"Hey, you two!" Kurt said as cheerfully as possible, stepping in between them. "Glad to see you're getting along." he said, sarcasm apparent.

Blaine flashed a huge smile at Kurt and then turned back to Dave. "Oh, _of course_ we are. Dave and I were just getting to know each other better. Isn't that right, Dave?"

Dave gazed worriedly at Kurt. He wanted to tell him how truly batshit Blaine was, but he was certain that the dark-eyed boy would just charm his way out of it, making him look bad in the process. Besides, why would Kurt believe him, anyway? In spite of the kissing, the declarations of love, and the late-night songwriting, Kurt probably still saw Dave as that same big, scary bully who tortured him for a small eternity. If faced with a choice between Dave and Blaine, he'd choose Blaine every time. Dave just knew it. And the last thing he wanted to do was let Kurt walk away with a freshly-angered psychopath. So he found himself nodding his head wordlessly.

Blaine smirked, pleased with Dave's silence. He turned to Kurt and found him staring up at Dave. He glared momentarily before clearing his throat. "Kurt? We should be going now, don't you think?"

Kurt was shaken out of his thoughts by the sound of Blaine's voice. "Hm? Oh, yeah, I guess so." He glanced up at Dave one last time. "See you tomorrow, then."

As they walked away together, Blaine looked back at a stone-still Dave and winked.

Dave clenched his fists and exhaled slowly, trying to calm the feeling in his stomach. For the first time, it wasn't jealousy. It was fear.

He hated himself for letting Kurt leave with that creep, but he felt like it was out of his hands. But as he stood there watching Kurt walk away, he made a silent promise to the boy that he'd never, ever let anything bad happen to him.

Because now he'd be watching. And eventually, Dave would find a way to make Kurt see things as clearly as he could right at that moment.

x-x-x-x-x

_Come back come back come back to me like_  
_ You would before you said its not that easy_  
_ Before the fight, before I locked you out_  
_ But I'd take it all back now_

_Come back come back come back to me like_  
_ You would you would if this was a movie_  
_ Stand in the rain outside til I came out _  
_Come back come back come back to me like _  
_You could you could if you just said you're sorry _  
_I know that we could work it out somehow _  
_But if this was a movie you'd be here by now_


	8. I Thought She Knew

A/N: Hey! So many things to say. If ever there were a chapter that I was going to need extra feedback on, this is it, because there are a few things that I'm thinking of doing, but I don't want to unless you guys are okay with it. First, let me know if you want some extra Brittana in the next chapter. I kind of skimmed it in this one, and I sort of feel bad about it. And I was thinking about writing a spinoff story for Puck and Sam, so let me know if you guys are remotely interested in that. And also, you know, general reviews are nice. Thank you again to everyone who keeps coming back, I love you all!

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. Also, boy bands.

x-x-x-x-x

When Dave snapped out of his thoughts enough to head out to the parking lot, he was never more relieved to see Sam waiting in the passenger seat of his truck.

Dave flung the driver's side door open and sunk into his seat, pulling the door shut with a hard slam. Sam straightened in his seat and eyed Dave worriedly, reaching over to touch Dave's shoulder.

"What happened? I saw Kurt and Blaine leave a few minutes ago and then when you didn't come out, I kind of started to panic." Sam said with a frown.

Dave shook his head. "I'm not even sure what happened. I think-" Dave turned his head to look Sam in the eyes. "I think Kurt is dating a psychopath."

Sam cocked an eyebrow, studying Dave's face to decide if he was overstating. Dave looked honestly freaked out, though, and Sam gulped. "Tell me everything."

Sam watched Dave with furrowed brows as Dave did his best to recount every aspect of his unsettling conversation with Blaine. He described everything with as much detail as he could, right down to the inflection Blaine put on certain words, and the chilling vacancy behind his stare.

Dave watched impatiently as Sam gazed out through the windshield, apparently contemplating something.

Sam shifted in his seat and shot Dave a worried look. "Do you think he meant that he'd physically hurt Kurt? Or do you think maybe he meant something like emotional damage?"

Dave heaved his shoulders up in a half-hearted attempt at a shrug before settling them on his steering wheel. "I don't know." he said flatly, gripping the wheel hard enough to whiten his knuckles. "But I'm not okay with either one."

Sam clenched his jaw and nodded in agreement. His gaze shifted away from Dave momentarily as he saw Finn and Puck crossing the parking lot together. He gestured to them with a tiny nod of his head and watched as Dave turned to look at them. "We need to tell Finn." Sam said in a tone that forbade any argument. "At the very least, he'd be an extra set of eyes on Kurt. Especially at home. I know you probably want to handle this yourself but-" Sam cut himself off abruptly when he realized that Dave was already halfway out of the truck.

Dave hustled across the parking lot towards Finn and Puck, with Sam right on his heels. Puck was already in his truck and Finn was just about to get into his car, but before Dave could open his mouth to call out to him, he heard Sam holler Finn's name from somewhere behind him. He watched with relief as Finn paused and looked around for the source of the shout.

Finn grinned as he spotted the two of them coming towards him, but it quickly faded as they got closer and he took in their rather serious expressions. "What's going on?" Finn asked, halfway to worried already.

Puck rolled his window down from the next space over and peered out at them. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Finn. "Since when did you become a couples therapist, bro?"

Sam glared hard at Puck. "Shut up, dude. We're here to talk to Finn about something important." His gaze softened for a split second before he quickly redirected his attention back to Dave and Finn.

Puck stared at Sam. "That so?" he opened his truck door and stepped out, swaggering over to join the group. "Then let's hear it."

Dave glanced briefly at Puck and then over to Sam. He grumbled at the intrusion and the fact that it meant he'd now have to choose his words carefully, so that he didn't out his fake relationship with Sam to Puck. He brought his gaze back to Finn. "I'm- er, _we're_ worried about Kurt."

Finn looked curiously between Dave and Sam. "Worried about him how?"

Sam spoke up before Dave could. "We're not really sure how serious he was, but just now after practice Blaine told Dave that Kurt would get hurt if Dave didn't stay away from him. He was pretty cryptic about it, but it was obviously meant as a threat."

Finn's chewed his lip and eyed them both. "And you're sure he couldn't have meant it another way? I mean, Blaine doesn't really seem the type to-"

Dave cut him off. "You didn't see his eyes, Finn. They were so cold and merciless. He made sure I understood that if I piss him off in any way, Kurt will suffer for it."

Puck was shaking his head. "I knew I didn't like that kid."

Sam rolled his eyes and chuckled softly. "Welcome to the club."

Finn's eyes darted around to each of them as his face began to reflect the same worried look that the other boys all shared. He thought for a moment, then looked at Dave. "You need to talk to Kurt."

Dave shook his head. "I don't think he wants to talk to me. Besides, you're his step-brother and I'm really _nobody_ to him." he gestured with his eyes over towards Puck, who still didn't know about what Dave and Kurt were to each other, and what Dave and Sam weren't. "So it would probably make more of an impact coming from you."

Finn nodded, catching on. "Oh, right. Yeah. Okay, I'll talk to him. Thanks for telling me."

They all said goodbye and left in their respective vehicles. Five minutes later, Dave got a text from Finn.

_Sorry. Forgot that Puck's out of the loop. Be at my house in an hour._

Dave dropped Sam off at his house after promising that he'd call him with an update later. Then he drove home to get himself ready.

x-x-x-x-x

Dave stepped out of the shower and dressed in a pair of dark wash jeans, a black t-shirt, and a charcoal gray zip-up sweater. He added a dab of gel to his towel-dried hair and worked it into what he could only hope would be a decent-looking tousle. He eyed a bottle of cologne on his dresser and deliberated momentarily before spraying some on his neck. He looked himself over in the mirror and let out a nervous sigh. This was the first time that he would be alone with Kurt outside of school, and even though he was only going over to make sure Kurt was okay, he still wanted to look good and smell sexy while doing so.

The drive to Kurt's was less than ten minutes, but after about minute one, the silence was too much for Dave to handle, so he flipped to a random radio station. An old *NSYNC song came on, and Dave found himself singing along. Under normal circumstances he probably would have changed the station immediately, but then again, the day's circumstances had so far been anything but normal.

Dave pulled up in front of Kurt's house exactly an hour from when he'd gotten Finn's text. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself before he stepped out of his truck, his nervous energy causing him to shut the door with a bit more force than he meant to. He stood at the walkway leading to the front door and gulped. He knew that this talk with Kurt was probably long overdue, and he hoped that he could still find the right words to say when those breathtakingly beautiful eyes were looking into his. He shook his head reminded himself yet again that he was only here to be sure that Kurt was safe. As he stepped up to the front door and rang the bell, he forced himself to push all thoughts of being hopelessly in love with Kurt out of his mind.

x-x-x-x-x

Kurt was perched on the couch, eyeing Finn suspiciously. He was acting weird, even by Finn-standards. He jumped every time he heard a noise outside, and he kept staring in the direction of the front door like he was expecting someone. When Kurt asked him what was going on, he'd just shrugged. About fifteen or so minutes later, Kurt jumped slightly at the sound of a vehicle's door being slammed right outside their house. Finn peeked out the window and grinned, disappearing into the main hallway just as the doorbell rang.

Finn re-emerged a minute later, an even bigger grin sprawled over his face. "Someone's here to see you, Kurt."

Kurt was just opening his mouth to question Finn when Dave stepped around the corner, smiling shyly at Kurt.

"Dave, h-hey." Kurt stammered, practically leaping up off of the couch. As he crossed the living room, he took in the sight of Dave standing awkwardly next to Finn, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans. Kurt felt a slight surge of something inside of him that he was still capable of making Dave nervous. He studied Dave's outfit and bit his lip in approval. The boy looked **good**.

Kurt stopped in front of Finn and looked up at him accusingly. "I'm going to go ahead and assume that you arranged this?"

"Um. Well, yeah." Finn muttered, seemingly surprised that Kurt wasn't instantly thrilled. "I thought it would be good if you guys talked."

Kurt eyed him for long, deliberate pause before a smile crept onto his face. "Thanks." Kurt said, pecking Finn on the cheek.

Finn smiled and nodded, patting Dave on the back as he left the room and headed upstairs.

"So, hey." Kurt said, smiling at Dave, suddenly feeling pretty nervous himself.

"Hey." Dave said, allowing his gaze to meet Kurt's for just a second too long.

Kurt unconsciously took another step towards Dave. His senses became clouded with a musky, heavenly scent.

"You smell nice." Kurt said, taking yet another step. They were almost touching. "Are you wearing cologne?"

Dave couldn't stop the blush from creeping onto his face. "Is it too much?"

Kurt shook his head. "It's just right."

They stood there in silence for a moment, each boy searching for something to say.

Kurt abruptly spoke, causing Dave to startle just a bit. "Oh! Sorry. Where are my manners? Come in and sit down."

Dave's breath caught in his throat as Kurt reached over and gently grabbed hold of his wrist, tugging him towards the couch. It was a small thing to get caught up in, but it felt like forever since the last time Kurt touched him, and this was making his stomach do flips.

As Dave sat down on the couch, Kurt hovered nervously over him. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

Dave grinned. It would figure that Kurt would have to be the perfect host. "No, thank you. I'm good."

"Well, in that case." Kurt said, sitting down a full cushion's length away from Dave. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Dave frowned at the sudden lack of close proximity. "To be honest, Kurt, I was kind of hoping that you'd do most of the talking."

Kurt arched an eyebrow at Dave. "How do you mean?"

Dave sighed. "What I mean is, I have no idea what's been going on in your head, and I'd really like to know."

Kurt was busying himself with picking little balls of fuzz off of the couch cushion between them. "Regarding what, exactly?" he asked, hoping the dread that he was feeling wasn't apparent in his voice.

"Everything." Dave said, not taking his eyes off of Kurt. "We haven't had an honest conversation ever, and given everything that's happened between us, or is maybe still happening, I don't know, I think we owe it to each other to talk it out."

Kurt gulped. "I- um. Wh-what do you want to know?"

Dave hadn't really thought about what specific questions to ask Kurt. He thought about starting off slowly, but he decided to lead with the main attraction anyway. "Are you happy with Blaine?"

Kurt started tugging on a loose thread, unraveling the stitching on the front of the cushion. Dave reached over and covered Kurt's hand with his. "Kurt, look at me."

Kurt hesitated, but slowly brought his eyes up to meet Dave's. "I- I don't know. If I'm happy. I'm not sure how I feel anymore."

Dave watched as Kurt's attempt at a smile faltered. "You don't have to be brave with me." Dave said, squeezing Kurt's hand softly.

Kurt got momentarily lost in Dave's eyes. He realized what he was doing and shook himself out of it. "Why are you asking me this, Dave? Why are you here?"

Dave sighed and let go of Kurt's hand. "I'm just worried about you, Kurt. You hardly ever smile, and you've almost entirely stopped volunteering your opinions during glee practice and- it's just not like you."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "And you know so much about me."

Dave managed a small smile in spite of the tension. "Are you forgetting? Once upon a time I occupied myself with just watching you. So, yes, I know you well enough to know when you're not being yourself."

"I don't know what you want me to say." Kurt said softly, his resolve starting to fade.

Dave scooted a little closer to him. "Say what you feel."

Kurt felt something like butterflies in his stomach as Dave moved closer to him. "I- I feel.." he looked into Dave's eyes again, and the words came out before he could stop them. "I feel like I made a mistake."

Dave felt such a flutter inside of him it was ridiculous. "W-what mistake is that?"

Kurt sighed. "I think you know which one. Breaking up with you. Rushing into things with Blaine."

Dave couldn't keep the hurt from tingeing his voice. "Then why did you?"

Kurt shook his head and cast his eyes downwards. "I don't even know anymore. I was confused. You have to understand my side. I came back to McKinley and my _former bully_ was one of the first people to seem genuinely happy to see me. I don't know why, but it drew me to you. And when things started to get serious between us, it was so fast. I barely had time to process it all. And then one day it hit me. I had all of these feelings for you, and I had no idea if you returned any of them. I told myself that you couldn't. That I was just an experiment to you. I couldn't believe that you had any feelings for me that you wouldn't have had for _any_ gay boy you were regularly making out with. And then Blaine said that he was transferring to McKinley, and I thought, it's a sign. So I told you I wanted to be single, but I knew I was going to throw myself at Blaine the second I saw him. And I'm just _so sorry_-"

Dave pressed a finger to Kurt's lips. "Kurt, please don't. I'm not here to make you apologize to me." He shouldn't have, but he couldn't help but trail his finger softly down Kurt's lip before he pulled his hand back and settled it into his own lap. He briefly thought that he might be willing to die right then for just one kiss from Kurt's enticingly soft lips.

Kurt bit his bottom lip and moved just a little closer to Dave. "Then what are you here for?" he asked softly, tantalizingly.

Dave found himself leaning in closer, closer. He could feel Kurt's breaths against his face. His mouth hovered so dangerously close to Kurt's, every part of his being aching to close the gap between them. But he lingered there, frozen. "Kurt.." he whispered, reaching up to stroke Kurt's cheek softly with his fingertips.

Kurt closed his eyes for a moment and sighed contentedly at Dave's touch. As they flickered back open, Kurt moved in deliciously slow motion towards Dave, closing the remaining gap between them, brushing his lips softly over Dave's.

Dave made a noise halfway between a growl and a sigh and pressed a hand to the back of Kurt's neck, grazing his fingertips softly up and down. He felt Kurt shiver beneath his touch. Dave seized Kurt's bottom lip with his mouth and sucked it gently, eliciting a soft moan from Kurt. To Dave's surprise, it was Kurt who crushed their lips together, kissing Dave with an intensity that fell somewhere halfway between passion and desperation.

Kurt wrapped his arms around Dave's neck and pulled him closer, moaning as Dave's tongue parted his lips and tangled with his own. Kurt's mind was reeling as electric butterflies surged through his body. This was the kiss he had always wanted from Dave. It wasn't chaste, but it wasn't purely sexual, either. There was love there._ Love._

Kurt gasped and pulled away, making Dave whimper at the loss of contact.

"I- we can't do this." Kurt said, eyes glistening, a look of relative shock on his face.

Dave gazed dreamily at Kurt. "Why can't we?"

Kurt's lip quivered. "B-because. You're with Sam. And I- I'm with Blaine."

Dave started to come out of the mini-coma that Kurt's kiss had lulled him into. He watched as the tears threatened to spill from Kurt's entrancing eyes at any moment. "Kurt, please don't.." he reached for Kurt's hand, but Kurt recoiled.

Kurt jumped from the couch as the tears began to trail down his cheeks. "I'm s-sorry. We can't. We can't do this."

As Kurt quickly left the room, the sputtering start of sobs echoing in his wake, Dave's heart broke all over again.

x-x-x-x-x

On the drive home, Dave called Sam. He knew he shouldn't be on the phone while driving, but he desperately needed to talk it out before he went off the deep end.

He gave Sam the abridged version of what happened, making sure to point out that Kurt's main problem seemed to be with the fact that Dave was 'with' Sam. Add that to the steadily-increasing flirtation between Sam and Puck, and Dave could only come to one conclusion. He paused more dramatically than was probably necessary. "Sam, I think it's time we broke up." Dave said.

Dave rolled his eyes at the boy on the other end up of the phone. "Stop laughing."

x-x-x-x-x

"I can't believe you just _said_ that!" Sam shouted, glaring hard at a rather perturbed Dave.

Dave heaved his shoulders in an over-exaggerated shrug. "I'll say it again, then. AVATAR SUCKED. You mad?"

Sam threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "I should have known this would never work. You hate everything that I like, and I'm sick of it. Oh, and let's not forget that this was doomed from the start because the first time that you ever touched me ended with you _punching me in the eye_."

Dave rolled his eyes and groaned. "Oh, why don't you go bleach your hair and cry about it?"

Sam's mouth fell open with indignant shock. "That was _lemon juice_, and it was ONE TIME."

Dave nodded his head and smirked. "Right, right. Then riddle me this: why hasn't it grown out yet?"

"UGH, I HATE YOU!" Sam shouted, storming out of the room.

Dave chuckled. "Oh, my broken fucking heart!" he hurled back, storming off in the opposite direction.

The rest of the choir room stared in stunned silence at the doorway, trying to process what they'd just seen.

x-x-x-x-x

Sam stalked off down the hallway, trying not to burst out laughing. He stopped cold in his tracks when he heard Puck's voice somewhere behind him calling out, "Sam! Hold up a second."

He wasn't expecting this. He was supposed to wait around until practice let out and then meet Dave back in the choir room to pat each other on the back for successfully pulling off the most over-the-top, ridiculous break-up the glee club had ever seen. Puck wasn't supposed to_ follow_ him.

Puck caught up to him and laid a hand softly on his shoulder. "You okay, Sam?"

Sam gulped and nodded, but he couldn't make himself turn around to face him.

Then Puck chuckled. "You realize that you didn't have to do all of that, right?"

Sam shook his head. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about that explosive ending to your fake relationship." Puck said. "Finn told me."

Sam groaned. "Of course he did."

"In his defense, I kind of kept asking him about you until he caved." Puck admitted, staring at the back of Sam's head. "You know, this would probably all be a lot easier if you'd look at me."

Sam shook his head. "I don't think I can. I am mortified to a level that I previously thought was impossible."

Puck moved around to stand in front of the blonde boy, but Sam still refused to look up at him. Puck placed a finger underneath Sam's chin and slowly lifted head up until Puck's dark eyes met Sam's slightly glistening gaze. "You should have just told me." Puck said softly.

Sam nodded, sniffling a little. "I know. But I didn't think you could ever- and then when we realized that you might, it was too late to just be like,_ 'hey, it was all a joke!'_ and then everything got more complicated with Dave and Kurt and I was going to tell you eventually but-"

Sam's apology was abruptly ended by Puck's lips crushing against his.

Sam gasped into Puck's mouth, momentarily taken aback. Then he sighed into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Puck's neck, kissing him back with the same ardent intensity.

Puck broke the kiss, trailing light kisses along Sam's jaw. He hovered his mouth next to Sam's ear and whispered. "Just so you know, I've liked you since the moment I met you."

Sam closed his eyes and held Puck there, reveling in the feeling of Puck's body pressed against his. He thought it couldn't get any more perfect than that, and then Puck kissed him again, and somehow it did.

x-x-x-x-x

Dave strode back into the choir room, expecting to see Sam waiting for him. But instead he found a silent, sad-looking Artie.

"Hey," Dave said, sitting down in the chair nearest to Artie. "What's with the face?"

Artie shrugged. "I'm just feeling sorry for myself."

Dave sighed and nodded. "Ah, I know the feeling all too well. So if you want to talk to an expert.."

"It's just.. I have this really amazing girlfriend. I mean, Brittany is terrific. She really is. But I can't stop thinking about Tina. I don't know what's wrong with me." Artie said, shaking his head.

"Let me ask you this: do you love Brittany?" Dave asked gently.

Artie looked pensive. "I- don't know. I think she's pretty and really fun to be around.. but if I'm honest, I don't feel anything for her that even comes close to what I feel for Tina."

Dave patted Artie on the back. "I know. You look at Tina the way that I look at Kurt." he said, pausing to appreciate the ease in which that had just come out of his mouth. Then he looked at Artie meaningfully. "The way that Santana looks at Brittany."

Dave watched Artie's face as he put all of the pieces together in his mind. "You're right. I know I have to end things with Brittany, and maybe it makes me a terrible person, but I'm not really worried about that part. I know Santana will be there for her. What I'm stuck on is how I'll ever be able to get Tina back."

Dave grinned. "How do you feel about *NSYNC?"

x-x-x-x-x

The next day, Artie was in the center of the choir room with Dave, Finn, Puck and Sam behind him. His eyes locked with Tina's as he began to sing, the other four boys serving as his a capella backup.

_She was my once in a lifetime_  
_ Happy ending come true _  
_Oh, I guess I should have told her _  
_I thought she knew_

_She said I took her for granted _  
_That's the last thing I would do _  
_Oh, I'll never understand it _  
_I thought she knew_

It took Tina a few lines to realize that the song was intended for her, but eventually she noticed that Artie's eyes were on her and only her. She smiled in spite of the tears that were leaving tracks down her cheeks.

Dave tried and failed to not look at Kurt. He stole a quick glance as he crooned in the background, his stomach fluttering when he saw that Kurt was looking at him, too. He quickly turned his head in the opposite direction just in time to avoid being spotted by Blaine, who had been rolling his eyes and glaring at his watch impatiently.

Puck and Sam smiled at each other, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their fingers tangled together.

_I thought she knew my world revolved around her_  
_ My love light burned for her alone _  
_But she couldn't see the flame, only myself to blame _  
_I should have known, I should have known_

_A heart full of words left unspoken_  
_Now that we're through _  
_I'd sell my soul to have this silence broken _  
_Oh, I thought she knew, I thought she knew_

Santana looked over at a sullen Brittany and took her hand, intertwining their fingers together. She looked at Brittany in a way that unmistakably said she'd never let go. At the same time that Santana was reaching for Brittany's hand, Tina was letting go of Mike's.

_I thought she knew my world revolved around her_  
_ My love light burned for her alone _  
_But she couldn't see the flame, only myself to blame _  
_I should have known, I should have known_

_She was my once in a lifetime _  
_Happy ending come true _  
_Whoa I guess I should have told her _  
_But I thought she knew_  
_ I thought she knew yeah, I thought she knew_

_I thought that she knew._

Tina and Mike were over before the song was. The rest of glee practice was canceled so that everyone could "get it together" as Mr. Schuester had so succinctly put it.

x-x-x-x-x

Dave was the last one to leave the choir room.

He was making his way down the hallway, but he stopped dead when he heard Kurt and Blaine's voices coming from just around the corner. He knew he shouldn't be listening, but he reasoned that it would draw more attention to him if he tried to move from his current spot.

"I'm asking you if I have to worry about you pulling a stunt like that." Blaine said flatly, studying Kurt's face for traces of anything suspect.

Dave clenched his fists as he heard Kurt attempt a response but stammer instead.

Blaine's brows furrowed at Kurt's sputtering. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Kurt bit his lip, unsure of what to say. "I- I said I'm not sure what made you think to say that."

Blaine eyed Kurt in disbelief. "You're not sure, Kurt? I'd think it would be rather obvious, what with the way that you're constantly making googly eyes at _David._"

Kurt shivered at the tone in which Blaine spoke Dave's name. After a false start or two, Kurt finally got the words out. "That's not what you think."

Blaine let out a quick whoosh of air and clutched his hand to his chest dramatically. "Oh, it isn't? I only wish I could believe that, Kurt. But if you look me in the eyes right now and promise that I'll never catch you looking at or speaking to him again, I think I might just be able to forgive you."

Kurt found himself staring at Blaine, shaking his head. "I need to think." he said simply, backing away.

"Don't be silly, Kurt. Think about what?" Blaine reached for his hand, but Kurt pulled it away and continued slowly retreating.

"N-no. I'll call you later, Blaine." Kurt said, and then he turned on his heel and headed full speed through the double doors.

"_I know you will._" Blaine said in a low growl, and Dave just knew he was smirking.

But Dave was smiling, because Kurt was _finally_ starting to see Blaine for who he truly was. And that, Dave thought, couldn't possibly happen soon enough.


	9. I Don't Believe You

**A/N**: Sorry for the delay. Major writer's block. I was having some issues with what direction I wanted to take this story in, but I decided that I'm going to write what I think is the most interesting, most satisfying ending. Unless something weird and unforeseen happens, there are two more chapters left. Sorry in advance for the angst, but I felt it was necessary.

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Glee. Or Pink. Or Moulin Rouge.

x-x-x-x-x

Blaine's gaze was focused on his bedroom mirror as he meticulously styled his hair. He worked a bit more pomade through it and stood back to scrutinize his work. He smirked. It was _perfect_.

Kurt's behavior towards him over the weekend had unsettled him, to say the very least. Kurt had called him like he'd promised, but Blaine could sense that he was less-than-enthused to be talking to him. The conversation had lasted all of fifteen minutes before Kurt abruptly issued a rushed "I'm gonna go- I'll see you on Monday." And then he'd hung up before Blaine could even utter a syllable. Initially, Blaine wasn't even sure exactly what he'd done to garner such a response, but then he recalled that just before their unexpected goodbye, Blaine had mentioned Dave. Well, he hadn't said his name, actually he had referred to him as The Forgettable Hulk. Nonetheless, Kurt sighed sadly before falling silent altogether. Then he hung up.

So that was it. Kurt really was beginning to choose Dave over him.

He shook his head and glared hard at himself in the mirror. _No, that just won't do._

Blaine's face changed to a look of utter wickedness as he remembered a certain conversation he'd stumbled upon a few days earlier. It really was beautiful, how fate had worked in his favor that day. He'd gone to the boys room after their explosive glee practice, telling Kurt that he'd meet him outside. On the way back, he stopped short of rounding the corner as he heard voices. Puck and Sam's voices. He listened in intrigued silence as the boys laid out their feelings, but most importantly, acknowledged that Sam and Dave had never been real. Blaine had chuckled quietly and rolled his eyes, deciding to file that little tidbit away for later use. He hadn't thought he'd need to pull it out this soon, but things were slipping out of his tight grasp so quickly, and he desperately needed to regain control.

He gave himself one more glance over in the mirror, nodded approvingly, and walked out of his bedroom with his signature smirk firmly affixed to his face. Today was going to be an excellent day. He just knew it.

x-x-x-x-x

Kurt groaned quietly to himself as he caught sight of Blaine approaching him at his locker.

He had finally realized that if you wanted to be around Blaine and not sacrifice your self-respect in the process, you had to remain alert at all times. You had to be ready to deflect the occasionally hurtful remarks about your appearance or attitude, and you'd need to anticipate all of the drawn-out conversations that all seemed to be about one subject: Blaine. You had to be ready to skillfully dodge these things, or you'd get sucked in and somehow forget that you used to have an identity outside of the title of Blaine's boyfriend.

But it was all so exhausting, and Kurt was just tired. He'd been up for the better part of the night, shifting from one position to another, willing sleep to overtake him. Sleep refused. He tossed and turned for another hour, sighing in frustration at his mind's unwillingness to cooperate with him. He had been trying to think about nothing, to clear his mind to a state of blissful blankness. But the more that he tried not to think, about one person in particular, the more the thoughts pervaded his mind to spite him. After hours of restless battling, he finally relented and allowed his mind to go where he couldn't deny he wanted it to. He curled up on his side and imagined that Dave was snuggled up behind him, strong arms holding him close. He didn't know how it was possible that a mere thought could make him feel so warm and safe, but as he finally drifted off to sleep, he didn't really care.

Peaceful though it had been, Kurt had still only clocked slightly less than four hours of sleep, and he wasn't in the mood to deal with Blaine this morning. He sighed and slapped on a grin that he hoped seemed genuine and watched as Blaine strode over.

"Good morning, Kurt, baby. You look lovely as always." Blaine chirped, leaning in to softly peck Kurt's cheek.

Kurt's eyebrows arched in disbelief. Was that.. a _compliment_? An actual compliment with no subtle digs at him, like that time that Blaine praised his new pair of skinny jeans and only seconds later commented that the pocket details made Kurt's butt look non-existent. Kurt shook his head and brought himself back to reality, where Blaine was standing in front of him, eyeing him expectantly.

"Morning." Kurt said softly, his smile a bit more sincere then.

Blaine smirked inwardly at Kurt's slight-but-notable attitude adjustment. _He's almost too easy_, Blaine thought.

"I didn't hear from you much this weekend. Did you get into anything interesting?" Blaine asked, attempting to sound light-hearted.

Kurt pouted at the question and its implications. He shrugged casually and shook his head. "No, not really. I mean, I helped Finn clean his disaster area of a bedroom and I hung out at the shop with Dad, but nothing terribly interesting to report."

Blaine nodded, studying Kurt's face. "Hm." he said, arching an eyebrow. "And have you spoken to David?"

Kurt bit back a slight smile, amused that Blaine had abandoned his subtly-probing questions so quickly.

"No, I haven't." Kurt said. He looked into Blaine's eyes and held contact. "But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to. I've been thinking about it a lot, and Dave is my friend. He's a part of my life, and you're just going to have to accept that." He eyed Blaine confidently, in spite of his voice faltering a bit on the word 'friend'.

Blaine's lips parted just a bit as his head nodded slowly up and down. "I see." he said flatly. He fought the sudden urge to slap Kurt across the face for his defiance. Blaine clenched his jaw. This was all Dave's fault. All of it. Kurt's avoidance, his sudden lack of obedience, and all of those not-very-subtle sideways glances that Kurt didn't think Blaine noticed. And it would never stop, any of it, until Kurt's concept of Dave was completely ruined. Blaine narrowed his eyes and bit back his smirk. "Kurt, I think there's something that you should know about your _friend_."

Kurt stared, unblinking, at Blaine's mouth as they formed the words, "David is a liar."

Blaine stifled a grin at the surge of pride, or power, or vengeance he suddenly felt. Then he continued, speaking softly in what he hoped would be considered a sympathetic tone. "He lied to you, Kurt. To all of us. He and Sam were never together. They were simply trying to make a fool of you. And also, Sam was trying to bait Puck into going after him, which seems to have worked. But that's not as important as the first point; they were intentionally trying to upset you. And Kurt, I'm sorry, but that is just not something that a good person does. It's vicious and spiteful and quite honestly, I can't understand how you could possibly consider someone who would do that a friend." He let out a sharp exhale and flailed his arms dramatically, just for extra effect.

Kurt froze, tears welling in his eyes. "I- are you sure?"

Blaine nodded solemnly. "I overheard Puck and Sam in the hallway after Dave and Sam's _break-up_."

"So.. you heard Sam tell Puck that it was all fake?" Kurt asked, sort of impatiently. He wanted clarification before he leapt to any conclusions.

Blaine shook his head. "No. Puck already knew it was fake. He told Sam that he knew, and then they started gushing about their feelings a-"

"Wait- but how did Puck know?" Kurt interrupted.

Blaine eyed Kurt, more than slightly peeved by his interruption. "Apparently, Finn told him."

Kurt blinked. "_Finn knew?_"

Blaine nodded, his impatience starting to show. "Evidently."

Kurt pressed his lips together, willing himself to calm down. He didn't want to cry in front of Blaine. Ever. "I- I'm sorry, I have to go now. I'll see you in class, okay?" he forced a slight smile and was off down the hallway before Blaine had time to respond.

Blaine was disappointed at Kurt's reaction, but he couldn't help but feel accomplished nonetheless. This might not have instantly forced Kurt further into his arms, but it looked as though it was certainly going to keep him out of Dave's.

x-x-x-x-x

Kurt staggered down the hallway, attempting to keep his head high and his cheeks dry. He was hit with so many conflicting emotions at once, and the only thing he knew was that it hurt. Maybe Kurt should have expected something like this from Sam and Puck; he wasn't super-close to either of them. But Finn? Finn was his step-brother. He was supposed to look after him. Keep him from feeling, well, like he was feeling right now. And Dave. It had taken so much for Kurt to trust him. There had been nights early on in their flirtation when Kurt would lay awake in bed, thinking dreamily of Dave, only to be shaken violently out of his wistful thoughts by memories of locker slams and dirty looks. There had been some frantic, doubtful moments for Kurt. But over time, Dave had proven that he truly was worthy of being trusted, perhaps even above everyone else. And after all of that, for Dave to hurt him like this, it was doing unspeakably painful things to Kurt's heart.

Kurt was halfway to the girls bathroom when he redirected himself. He didn't want to splash water on his face and calm down. He wanted to scream in someone's face. He rounded a corner and clenched his fists as he spotted Sam, Puck, and Finn talking at Finn's locker. He hastened in their direction, taking full advantage of the long strides that his legs were capable of. Sam was already looking at him, seemingly taken aback by the furious expression on his face. _Good_, Kurt thought. _You should all be terrified._

Kurt halted to a stop right behind Finn. "Good. You're mostly all here. I don't have to hunt you down individually. Now if only Dave were here, I-" he stopped abruptly as his eyes locked on Dave coming down the hallway towards them.

"YOU." Kurt said forcefully, pointing his finger sharply in Dave's direction. "Here. Now."

Dave gasped quietly at Kurt's infuriated demeanor, walking hesitantly over to join the other stunned-silent boys.

Kurt snarled a bit as his menacing glare flicked over each boy. "Now that we're all here- oh, my, David, aren't you standing awfully close to your ex and his new beau. I'd think that would be rather awkward, in light of your quite recent break-up."

Dave shot a side-glance at the two boys next to him and shuffled a few feet away from them.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Don't bother. I know all about your sham of a relationship. I suppose it worked halfway, hm?" Kurt said, gesturing towards Sam and Puck. "But what were _you_ supposed to get out of it, I wonder, David?"

Dave opened his mouth to form a response, but Kurt wasn't having it. "If your intention was to torment and humiliate me, congratulations, you've succeeded. But if your objective was to make me leave Blaine for you, then you've failed. Because as it turns out, Blaine is the only person who respects me enough to tell me when I'm being lied to."

Dave grimaced. "I-I do respect you, Kurt. I didn't mean to-"

"You don't respect me!" Kurt bellowed. "None of you do."

"That's not true, Kurt." Finn said softly, reaching over to touch Kurt's shoulder.

Kurt shoved Finn's hand off of his shoulder and shot him a warning glare. "Don't _touch_ me. And don't tell me I'm wrong, Finn. Don't any of you tell me that I'm wrong. You all had countless opportunities to let me in on this little joke at my expense, but you didn't. And I will never forgive you for that."

Sam cleared his throat nervously. "Kurt, wait. It was my idea. If you're going to be mad at someone, it should be me."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised that such a juvenile idea came from you, Sam? Nonetheless, the origin of the idea is of little concern to me. The betrayal that you've all perpetrated by allowing me to be hurt by the fallout, that's my focus right now. And by that standard, you are all guilty."

Puck shifted uncomfortably. "Why are you mad at me, though? I'm like you, I mean, I didn't know the _whole_ time."

Kurt watched Puck squirm and felt a slight smirk creep onto his face. "Oh, Puck. I realize that you were unaware for a time. But when you did find out, you could've come to me. You should have. But you didn't, because it didn't matter to you that I was being lied to. That I was being hurt. So don't you dare tell me that you're not just as guilty as the rest of them."

Puck bit his lip, eyes downcast to the floor.

Dave took a cautious step towards Kurt. "Kurt, please, I didn't mean to hurt you. I just wanted to make you jealous and-"

Kurt cut him off. "And what exactly do you think jealousy does to a person? It _hurts_ them."

Dave sighed. He knew all too well how much jealousy hurt. "I-I'm sorry, Kurt."

Kurt shook his head, glaring coldly at Dave. "I don't believe you."

The late bell rang, and Kurt tore his gaze from Dave's pained face, glancing up at a worried-looking Finn. "You and I will be talking later, Finn."

Finn gulped and nodded solemnly.

Kurt gave them each one last lingering, shame-inducing glare before he turned on his heel, walking resolutely in the opposite direction.

He didn't turn around when he heard the loud thud behind him. He knew without looking that it was Dave taking his frustrations out on the locker bank. Kurt sighed as he walked to class, wishing that something as simple as punching things could quell the pain he was feeling.

x-x-x-x-x

Dave's fist careened into the lockers with a slam, and he whimpered slightly, both at the sudden pain and the fact that it did nothing to take away the ache in his chest. He placed his palm flat against the cold metal and rested his forehead against the lockers as well, focusing on breathing and not breaking down in the middle of the hallway. He squirmed slightly as he felt a warm hand come to rest on his shoulder, followed soon after by one on his back, and yet another on his other shoulder. He blinked for a moment, took a deep breath, and turned around to face his friends.

Finn frowned. "Are you gonna be okay, man?"

Dave chuckled in spite of himself. "I'm not sure when the last time was that I felt okay. But, yeah, I'll be okay."

Puck moved in slightly closer to Dave and locked eyes with him. "I know what it's like to be hurting and feel like you can't talk to anyone. But you need to know that you have us, okay? I'm here. Finn's here. And Sam-"

Puck's speech was cut off by Sam flinging himself at Dave, pulling him into a tight hug. He grinned at his boyfriend's unexpected but perfectly timed action. "And Sam's here, too. So don't go all lone wolf on us, okay?"

Dave nodded. "Honestly, I think I'm past the point of pretending like I can do this alone."

Sam pulled away and looked into Dave's eyes. "So then we'll see you at lunch? You won't just stalk off and be moody somewhere?"

Dave managed a small smile. "I'll be there."

x-x-x-x-x

Kurt ducked stealthily into his first period class, slipping into his seat that was rather conveniently close to the door. Nobody seemed to notice his late entrance, aside of course for Blaine, who was eyeing him expectantly from the next seat over. "And where did you run off to?" he asked softly, with just a slight tinge of accusation.

"I felt the need to have words with a certain few gentlemen." Kurt said matter-of-factly.

Blaine curbed a grin. "Oh, I see. Are you alright, Kurt?"

Kurt nodded slowly. "I think so. I'm going to continue the conversation with Finn later, but-" he fell silent as he saw Dave walking alone down the hallway. As his gaze trailed after Dave, he spoke in a lower, cold tone. "But I'm done with the rest of them."

Blaine reached under the desks and took Kurt's hand, squeezing it firmly. "You're doing the right thing. You don't need a manipulative jerk like him when you've got me." He flashed Kurt a big grin, and Kurt sighed.

Kurt looked at Blaine dejectedly. "I suppose you've been right about him all this time. I'm sorry I didn't listen."

Blaine shrugged. "It doesn't matter. You've come to your senses now, and that's what's most important." He intertwined their fingers together and looked intensely into Kurt's eyes. He squeezed Kurt's hand a little harder and said, "This is where you belong."

Kurt nodded, choking back a whimper. "Y-yeah. I know."

He wanted to cry. He wanted to run off to the bathroom and sob until he felt nothing. No betrayal. No loneliness. No longing. No guilt. But he couldn't. He just sat there, letting Blaine squeeze his hand until he felt pins and needles in his fingers. He knew it was wrong. He knew something was off about Blaine; he wasn't oblivious to the often vicious tone of his voice or the intentionally snide comments. Kurt was perfectly aware that Blaine wasn't the perfect boyfriend. But right now, Kurt didn't need perfect. He needed someone to hold his hand, even if it hurt. Because his feelings for Dave were intense enough that they nearly shattered him that morning, and he thought, maybe it isn't so bad to be with someone who doesn't stand a chance of making him feel anything close to that.

x-x-x-x-x

_I don't mind it, I don't mind at all_  
_ It's like you're the swing set, and I'm the kid that falls_  
_ It's like the way we fight, the times I've cried _  
_We come to blows and every night _  
_The passion's there, so it's got to be right, right?_

x-x-x-x-x

Dave slogged through the cafeteria line and made his way over to the table where Puck, Sam, and Finn were already seated. He plunked his tray down and sat next to Finn, looking around at the three disturbingly cheerful faces that were watching him.

"'Sup, Stepford husbands?" he said, quirking an eyebrow.

Sam bounced a little, ignoring Dave's sarcastic remark. "We have a plan."

"No. No more plans. Especially not yours." Dave said sternly. He caught sight of Sam's frown and added in a softer tone, "I'm sorry. But I think for now I need to just leave it alone."

Finn shrugged next to him. "I don't know, man. It actually sounds like a pretty good idea. It might work."

Puck nodded in agreement. "Not only would it work, it would reduce Kurt to a gooey pile of mush. Guaranteed."

Dave reluctantly took the bait. "Alright, I'm listening."

Sam resumed his bouncing. "Okay. So. Kurt likes musicals, right? Well, I happen to know that Moulin Rouge is one of his favorites."

"Because I told him." Finn interjected.

Sam ignored Finn's interruption. "So I was thinking, you should sing 'Come What May' to Kurt during glee practice. You know, the part from the end, where the girl is trying to apologize to Ewan McWhatshisface for something, and she sings _'come back to me, and forgiiiveeee everythiiiinnnggg'_ ...you know?"

Dave bit his lip, trying to remember back to when his mom had made him watch that movie with her. "Yeah, I think I remember that."

Finn nudged Dave. "It would definitely get him to at least consider forgiving you."

"Yeah, man. He'd be all about it. I'm telling you." Puck said.

Sam was staring impatiently at Dave. "Well?"

Dave sighed, shaking his head. "No. I can't do that. Maybe it would get me out of him being mad at me, but I don't want to manipulate Kurt like that. Plus, I kind of deserve to have him hate me after everything I've said and done to him."

Finn groaned. "No, Dave, you don't. It's obvious that you love Kurt. And I trust that you'd never do anything to intentionally hurt him. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be sitting here. You have to stop beating yourself up over the past."

"For real." Puck said. "We're all about redemption here. Finn and I used to throw Kurt in the dumpster. I used to slushie people. You used to bully people. Most notably Kurt. But that's just it, you _used to_. You aren't that person anymore, and we all see that. So why can't you?"

Dave balled his hand into a fist and pounded the table just hard enough to make it shake. "No, you guys aren't getting what I'm saying. Look- the first time I kissed Kurt, I forced it on him. Even in a moment like that, which should've been mutual, I was forcing myself onto him. And I just- I see what he's going through with his douchebag of a boyfriend, and it kills me, but I'm not innocent either. I've made my mistakes with him. And now I have to back off. If he decides that he wants me, that'd be awesome. But he has to come to me this time. I owe him the freedom to make his own choice."

They all stared silently at him. They wanted to disagree, but they knew he was right.

x-x-x-x-x

_I don't mind it, I still don't mind at all_  
_ It's like one of those bad dreams when you can't wake up _  
_Looks like you've given up, you've had enough _  
_But I want more, no, I won't stop _  
_'Cause I just know you'll come around, right?_

_No, I don't believe you _  
_When you say don't come around here no more_  
_ I won't remind you _  
_You said we wouldn't be apart_

_No, I don't believe you_  
_ When you say you don't need me anymore _  
_So don't pretend to_  
_ Not love me at all_

x-x-x-x-x

Kurt was tossing a few ice cubes into his glass of water when he heard Finn unlock their front door, shutting it with a gentle click.

"Kurt?" Finn called out.

"I'm in the kitchen." Kurt half-shouted.

A few moments later, Finn was in the doorway to the kitchen, looking at Kurt with a slight smile on his face. "Hey."

Kurt arched an eyebrow at his step-brother. "Hi. Wow, I'm a bit surprised. I was thinking I'd have to ambush you in order to get you to face me again after this morning."

Finn shook his head. "No," he said as he crossed over to the table, sitting down. "I wanted to talk to you, too. Sit down, Kurt."

Kurt eyed Finn suspiciously for a moment before he sat down at the opposite end of the table. "Fine. But don't think I'm not still mad at you just because I'm-"

"I know." Finn said, his eyes fixated on the placemat in front of him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

Kurt watched him, frowning. "How long did you know about it?"

Finn shrugged. "I figured it out pretty soon after it started. Then maybe a week or so after that, Dave told me."

Kurt shook his head in disbelief. "How is it that _you_ could tell it wasn't real and I couldn't?"

Finn brought his gaze up to meet Kurt's troubled eyes. "Because he didn't want you to know. They were extra-convincing if you or Puck were around. That's how I figured it out in the first place."

Kurt glared at Finn momentarily. "Yeah, speaking of Puck. You could let him in on it, but not me? We're supposed to be brothers, Finn."

Finn shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "God, Kurt, _I know_. I said I'm sorry. If I had known that it was going to hurt you like this, I would have told you. And are you done making me feel like a shitty brother yet? Because I have some things to say to you."

Kurt shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "Go ahead, then."

Finn sighed at Kurt's demeanor. "Fine. Look- okay, first of all, stop looking at me like that. _Thank you_. Okay. I wanted to ask you if you're still mad at Dave for when he used to bully you."

Kurt made a strange face at Finn. "I- no, of course not. We're past that. I know he's not that person anymore. Why?"

Finn nodded. "Cool. Just wondering. Next thing. Are you only upset with him for lying about Sam?"

Kurt rolled his eyes, exasperated. "It's enough of a reason! I was miserable, and as it turns out, that's exactly what they were going for."

Finn was studying Kurt's face. "And why were you miserable, Kurt?"

Kurt opened and closed his mouth a few times before words came out. "Because I- oh, I see what you're trying to do, Finn."

Finn shot Kurt an innocent look. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Kurt smacked the table with the palm of his hand. "Bullshit! You're trying to get me to go all warm and gooey talking about my feelings so that I'll forgive Dave. Well it won't work."

"So you're saying that you do have feelings for Dave?" Finn said, quirking an eyebrow.

"FINN!" Kurt yelled.

Finn raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, fine." he said, getting up from the table. He paused in the doorway and turned around to look Kurt in the eyes. "But let me ask you this. If you're so certain that he's changed for the better, and if you have _obvious feelings_ for him now, why are you so willing to just give up on him?"

He kept his eyes locked on Kurt for another few moments before he turned to go upstairs, leaving Kurt alone to figure out the answer to that one for himself.


	10. Dangerously In Love

**A/N:** I'm sorry this chapter took so long! Gah. I feel like I haven't updated in forever. So, the song in this chapter is "Dangerously In Love" by Destiny's Child. I didn't utilize all of the lyrics. Santana sang the whole song, mind you, but I really only used the bits that were super relevant to the story. I probably didn't even need to explain that. OKAY. Anyway. Love you guys, and reviews are always appreciated.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Glee. Don't own Destiny's Child. Don't own a Taser.

Dave wasn't thinking about _anything_. He was drifting listlessly down the hallway with a far-away look in his tired eyes, but he wasn't thinking about anything. His gaze fell to the gleaming tiled floor and the slow shuffle of his sneakers as he walked.

He didn't see the hand reaching out for him. Grabbing hold of his collar and tugging him hard into the janitor's closet. The sudden contact jolted him from the thoughts that he most definitely wasn't having, and he blinked into the darkness of the enclosed space. His eyes widened as the light switch was toggled and a dim, flickering light illuminated the face of his apparent captor.

_Kurt._

Dave opened his mouth as if to speak, although he was unsure if any sound would come out. He didn't have time to find out, though, as Kurt looked into his eyes and spoke softly to him, stilling Dave instantly. "I know this is maybe the worst possible place for me to do this, but I have some things that I need to say to you and this is the only place I could think of where nobody would ever expect to find us. So, can we talk?"

The taller boy's eyes roamed around the small room, his face pained with the memories of their last encounter in the dingy space. His gaze met Kurt's again, and he gave a slight, tenuous nod.

Kurt eyed Dave and let out a slow breath. "I- I need to know something."

Dave stared, waiting.

Kurt's gaze momentarily fell to the floor. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest. He sighed deeply before looking once again into Dave's eyes. "If you had it to do all over again, would you do it all the same?"

Dave shot Kurt a rather flustered look. "Do what again, exactly?"

Kurt sighed again, but this time it was softer and accompanied by a slight chuckle. He dropped his arms to his sides. "All of it. The whole thing. Would you do it all again?"

Dave shook his head and shrugged simultaneously. "I don't know, Kurt. That's a loaded question. I mean, I- yes. No. I- I'd still want to feel these things that I feel for you. But I'd never want to hurt you. And, God, Kurt. I've hurt you so much. And I am so freaking sorry for all the pain I've caused you. I know you've forgiven me for all of the locker slams and taunts but that doesn't mean I forgive myself. I hate the way I used to be towards you, Kurt. And I hate that because of all of that, I've guaranteed that you'll never fully trust me. Not the way you trust Blaine. And I just-"

Kurt interrupted Dave's rant, pressing the palm of his hand flat against Dave's chest. "No, Dave. That's just it. I _do_ trust you_._ That's why it hurt so much to find out that you were lying to me about Sam. I just didn't expect that from you. Maybe it's my fault. Maybe I built you up in my mind to be the perfect guy; the only one who loved me for me. The one who'd never intentionally hurt me. And then you pulled that stunt and it just-" Kurt hesitated, bringing his gaze up to meet Dave's. "It killed me the whole time to see you with him, do you know that?"

Dave nodded his head slowly, a frown on his face as he took in Kurt's tear-filled eyes and heartbroken expression. "I know. I wanted it to. As bad as that sounds. But I had to watch you and Blaine be together every day, and it was so hard, Kurt. I just wanted you to know what it felt like. I know it hurt you, and I'm so sorry. If I could do it over, I'd tell Sam it was a horrible idea. At the time I honestly wasn't thinking. I just- I wanted you to want me like I wanted you."

Kurt's eyes darted quickly away from Dave's. He chewed on his lower lip, hoping that when he spoke his voice wouldn't come out as shaky as he was imagining it would. "_Wanted._" he echoed softly, the gloomy undertone not lost on Dave.

Dave took a step towards Kurt and decided to be brave. He placed a finger underneath Kurt's chin and tilted his head up so that their eyes met. He paused there for a moment, admiring the glistening cerulean pools. Then his gaze lowered to Kurt's gorgeous, pouting lips. He'd have given anything to kiss him right then, but he knew it wouldn't be right. Not in this grungy closet. Not when Kurt is upset. Not when Kurt isn't his to kiss. His breath hitched in his throat as his eyes once again met Kurt's, the gut-wrenching honesty of his statement causing his words to come out deep and just a little bit shaky. "I will _always_ want you, Kurt."

Kurt squeezed his eyes shut and leaned into Dave, burying his face in the front of Dave's shirt. Dave wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, pressing a kiss to Kurt's temple. "You're killing me, Kurt. But please- please don't be sad. I can wait. I can be your friend. I can't promise I'll be super psyched about it, but I can-"

He stopped abruptly as Kurt jerked away from him. "No." Kurt said, shaking his head almost frantically. "You shouldn't have to- I shouldn't- just give me some time to think. Please. I swear I'll fix this."

"Wh-" Dave couldn't even form an intelligible sentence before Kurt was out the door, leaving him alone and bewildered and breathing in the lingering scent of Kurt and bleach.

x-x-x-x-x

Dave plunked down into his seat in first period, managing to slip in just as the late bell rang. He was just getting settled when he felt a fingernail poking into the nape of his neck. He grinned, knowing exactly who it belonged to.

"'Sup, San?" he said, turning around to flash his smile at her.

She returned the smile. "B told me that you were the one that convinced Artie that breaking up with her was the best thing for everyone. So I just wanted to say-" she paused momentarily to consider the agitated teacher that was currently eyeing them and lowered her voice a bit, "thank you. Thanks for helping me get my girl."

He shook his head, still smiling. "I didn't do anything. I just told him to go with his feelings. Anybody could've done that."

Santana looked at him thoughtfully. "Maybe. But _anybody_ didn't. You did. And I love you for it. I meant to tell you that way sooner, but I was distracted by- um, you know, stuff." she said with a blissful, slightly mischievous smile.

Dave smiled and nodded. He missed the days of being happily distracted. The delicious, mind-wiping potential of every kiss, the unsubtle gazes from across the room, the constant thoughts of getting them alone for just a few perfect moments. He shook his head to check his wandering thoughts. "So I take it everything's going well?"

Santana beamed. "It's perfection. I told her I loved her for the second time that day after glee practice. Only this time, there was nothing stopping us from being together. And I'm going to sing to her today in glee club but she has no idea and-" She stopped gushing as she noticed Dave's crestfallen look and her face contorted into a sympathetic frown. "Oh, honey. I'm sorry. I didn't even- have you talked to Kurt lately?"

Dave sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."

But the truth was, he _did_ want to talk about it. With Kurt. He wanted, no, he needed to know what Kurt meant when he said he was going to fix things. The hopeful part of him wanted desperately to believe that Kurt was finally going to leave Blaine and be with him. But the rational part of him had to acknowledge that if patterns were indicative of anything, Blaine would somehow manage yet again to snake Kurt away from his grasp at the last second.

Dave groaned and slammed his head against the desk as their Calculus teacher directed their attention to a number sequence written on the chalkboard. "Find the pattern." she said, and Dave wondered briefly if she was capable of reading his thoughts.

x-x-x-x-x

Santana took the floor in the center of the choir room, Mercedes and Tina taking their spots in the background.

"This is for Brittany. You're my heart, baby." Santana announced, smiling and gazing adoringly at Brittany with glistening eyes.

_I love you _  
_I love you, I love you_  
_ Baby I love you, you are my life_  
_ My happiest moments weren't complete if you weren't by my side _  
_You're my relation and connection to the sun _  
_With you next to me, there's no darkness I can't overcome_

Dave grinned as he looked from Santana to a beaming Brittany. After a few more seconds of looking between the two girls, he couldn't stop himself from chancing a glance at Kurt.

He gasped, suddenly breathless. Kurt was looking right back at him, an intensity in his eyes that made Dave's stomach flutter. He sat there unmoving, watching Kurt watch him, feeling a pang in his chest every time he heard the word love. He wondered if Kurt was feeling the same.

Kurt was shamelessly staring at Dave. He knew he shouldn't be. Blaine was right next to him, and Kurt was aware of how very obvious he was being. But he didn't care. Hearing the word _love_being sung over and over again, it only made him want to look at one person. He only wanted one person. So he steadily gazed at Dave, unable to hide the sudden smile that overtook his face.

_I am in love with you_  
_ You set me free _  
_I can't do this thing called life without you here with me _  
_'Cause I'm dangerously in love with you _  
_I'll never leave _  
_Just keep loving me the way I love you loving me_

Puck nudged Sam's arm gently. "Babe- hey, look at this." he said, gesturing between Dave and Kurt.

Sam gasped and clamped a hand over his grin. "Ohmygod!" came out muffled through his fingers. He moved his hand away and bit his lip. "They are _so_ in love. Oh, shit, how cute are they?"

Puck nodded in agreement, grinning proudly between the two of them. He wrapped an arm around his own boyfriend and his smile got even bigger as Sam's face nuzzled into the crook of Puck's neck.

_Every time I see your face, my heart smiles_  
_ Every time it feels so good, it hurts sometimes _  
_Created in this world to love _  
_To hold, to feel, to breathe, to live you _  
_Dangerously in love, yeah_

Sam was nudged again, this time by the boy on his left. He turned to see Finn looking past him, his brows furrowed into a worried expression. He followed Finn's gaze and quickly identified the source of his concern. In his seat next to Kurt, a furious Blaine was flickering his heated gaze back and forth between an oblivious Kurt and Dave.

Sam directed Puck's attention to Blaine's frightening demeanor, and the mohawked boy grimaced. "Holy shit-" he muttered to Finn and Sam, "Dave wasn't fucking kidding. That boy is some kind of scary."

Finn and Sam just nodded silently, staring between the three boys.

_Dangerously _  
_Dangerous, dangerously in love with you _  
_Oh, I love you, I love you, love you, love you, love you, love you_

Dave should've been more careful. More subtle. But he couldn't. All he could think was how entrancing Kurt's eyes were, even from across the room. And how badly he wanted to kiss the soft smile that had appeared on Kurt's face. Kurt was always beautiful, but that smile, it elevated him to a whole other level. He was certain in that moment that Kurt was utter perfection, and he couldn't make himself look at anything or anyone else.

If he had been more aware of his surroundings, he would have noticed the murderous glare that Blaine was sending his way. If he'd just shifted his gaze to the right of Kurt for a fleeting moment, he would have caught it. But he couldn't tear his eyes from Kurt, so the warning flash of Blaine's glowering demeanor was thoroughly lost on the lovestruck boy.

_I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you_  
_ Dangerously in love_

Santana's gaze didn't stray from Brittany until the final note was sung. The room erupted into applause, albeit some of it was mindless. She happened to glance in Kurt and Blaine's direction on the way back to her seat, and she immediately noted the hostility on Blaine's face. She followed his gaze across the room to a sweetly-grinning Dave, and followed his gaze back to Kurt.

Santana reclaimed her spot next to Brittany. "This is _not good_." she said, mostly to herself. She turned around to bring it to Sam's attention, only to find three worried sets of eyes already looking at her. She flickered her gaze between them and then spoke in a hushed tone. "How long has this been going on?" she asked, gesturing with her eyes towards a smitten Kurt.

Puck and Sam shrugged and shook their heads.

Finn cleared his throat. "From what I've seen, it was kind of always on." He rolled his eyes at their incredulous faces. "_What?_ I live with him. He's my stepbrother. And maybe I'm more observant than you think."

Santana countered his eyeroll with one of her own. "Whatever, Nancy Drew. You got a plan for dealing with Batty McAngrypants over there, or what?"

Finn shook his head.

Santana looked pensive for a moment. "I say we lock him in someone's trunk."

Finn raised a curious eyebrow. "Then what?"

Santana sighed, eyeing Finn. "Then nothing. Elapsed time is good like that."

Puck chuckled. Sam elbowed him in the ribs. "Are you suggesting we leave him to die in the trunk of one of our cars?" the blonde said, disbelieving.

Santana looked insulted. "What? _No!_ We obviously wouldn't use any of our own vehicles. And no, we wouldn't let him die. Just leave him in long enough to warn Kurt and Dave and come up with a decent plan for how to handle the little shit."

Finn and Sam were wide-eyed staring at her. Puck looked as though he thought the idea was plausible.

"Uh. That's not going to work, Santana. Because as far as I know, that's_ kidnapping._" Finn said.

"Fine." she said, annoyed. "I'm fresh out of ideas. I'll leave it to you three braintrusts. Let me know what you come up with."

Sam, Puck, and Finn spent the rest of glee practice alternating between watching Blaine, Kurt, and Dave, and tossing around potential plans. Puck offered that he had a Taser in his truck, but the submission was met with two disapproving glances. Finn suggested that maybe it would be best if they got the doomed love triangle alone and made them talk it out. Sam vetoed that, saying that Blaine would either charm Kurt away from Dave again or he'd get aggressive. "Obviously Dave could take Blaine in a fair fight, but what would that look like to an outsider?" Sam said, glancing intensely between Puck and Finn.

Puck nodded knowingly. "Like Karofsky the big, bad bully was back in action."

"You're right, Sam." Finn said, rather dejectedly. "We can't risk it."

Sam sighed. "So then what are we-"

"That's it for today, guys. See you all tomorrow." Mr. Schue loudly announced. Maybe he knew that more than a few glee club members weren't paying much attention to him.

Kurt turned and said something quietly to Blaine, then grabbed his bag and bolted out the door. Blaine's gaze followed Kurt out the door before returning to the object of his animosity. Dave was staring, dumbfounded, at the doorway. As most of the glee club shuffled to collect their things and leave, Blaine made his way across the choir room towards Dave, who was standing by the time the furious boy reached him.

Blaine narrowed his eyes at Dave, the hostility apparent in his voice. "_You_- What do you think you're doing? Stay away from Kurt."

Dave arched an eyebrow at Blaine's sudden lack of arrogant authority that usually went along with these conversations. He shook his head. "I don't think so, Blaine. Not this time."

Blaine smirked. "You think you've won? I don't remember conceding. And you don't know how very much I'm capable of doing to keep what's mine."

Dave grimaced at the acerbic tone of Blaine's words. "You can't hurt him. I won't let you threaten Kurt again. I can protect him from you."

Blaine laughed in Dave's face. "You'll look like a stalker. An emotionally unhinged, obsessive stalker. I promise you."

Dave rolled his eyes. "Oh, fucking please. If anyone would know about being emotionally unhinged, it'd be you."

x-x-x-x-x

Out in the hallway, a small, worried group had congregated.

"Should we maybe just let it play out?" Finn questioned hushedly to the others.

Sam was leaning against the locker bank directly outside of the choir room door, monitoring the two boys inside. "I don't know, it sounds like they're about to start swinging."

Santana groaned in frustration. "I still say we should just take him and-"

"No!" Finn whispered gruffly. He didn't really have a plan, exactly, but he knew what they definitely _couldn't_ do. They couldn't lock Blaine in a trunk, they couldn't tase him, and they couldn't let Dave and Blaine just fight it out. "Santana and Brittany. Go find Kurt. He's the only person who can end this."

Sam nodded. "And at the very least, he needs to hear some of the things that his douchebag boyfriend is in here saying."

Santana eyed the boys before settling her gaze on Finn. "Right, _dick_tator. And what big, important thing are you all gonna do while we're gone?"

"We're going to make sure things don't get out of hand. Separate them if we have to. But hopefully you can find Kurt by then. I drove him to school this morning, so he couldn't have left." Finn said, ignoring her tone.

They all bristled as they heard Blaine screaming at Dave. "WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST LEAVE IT ALONE?"

Puck threw his hands in the air. "That's it. I'm getting my Taser."

"Santana!" Finn said urgently.

Suddenly less insolent and more worried, Santana jolted. "O-okay, we're going!" She grabbed Brittany's hand and the two of them took off down the hallway.

x-x-x-x-x

Dave ran his hand through his hair, subconsciously trying to calm himself. Everything about Blaine's demeanor was quite literally screaming that things were escalating, and he really didn't want to have to knock the little prick out. He clenched his jaw and planted his feet, deadset on staying in his current spot, which was safely out of punching-range of Blaine. "Dude, please just calm down. It's not this serious. I don't know what you think-"

Blaine's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Oh, that's hilarious. You're telling me to calm down? _You._ You're a closetcase bully who came out to rave reviews when you should have been shunned. You know, I never understood how they could all embrace you the way they did. Because to me, you're _nothing_." He let out a cold, bitter laugh and it made Dave shiver. "But then, you're the nothing that's trying to steal Kurt away from me. And now you're telling me to calm down. That's... not going to happen, I'm afraid." He took a step towards Dave, a slight smirk creeping over his face.

"You don't want to do this." Dave said, shaking his head imploringly.

Blaine took another step forward, glaring sharply at Dave. "Don't I?"

Dave kept his hands at his sides as Blaine crept closer, ignoring the urge to send him flying. "I'm not gonna fight you, Blaine."

Blaine came to a stop mere inches from Dave's face. His eyes were darker than Dave had ever seen them before, and Dave wasn't sure if it was just dilated pupils or if maybe Blaine was some kind of demonic hellspawn. He was leaning towards the latter.

"You sure about that?" Blaine asked, a smug grin playing at the corners of his mouth. "It doesn't make you want to hit me when I say that Kurt will never be yours?"

Dave clenched his fists reflexively, but otherwise kept his position. "No. Nothing you say can make me hit you. I know that's what you want. Then you'll say I beat you up for no reason and Kurt will hate me and fall back into your arms and-_ No_. I'm not gonna give you the satisfaction."

Blaine closed his eyes for a moment. "Mm. You think you've got me all figured out, don't you?"

Dave nodded almost imperceptibly. He still didn't quite trust himself to move completely with this smug asshole so close to him. "I'd say so, yeah."

"Then I'm sure you saw this coming." Blaine growled, thrusting his face forward and capturing Dave's mouth with his own.

Dave grunted a mixture of shock and protest. He tried to back away, but Blaine clamped his arms around the back of his neck, digging his fingernails in deep. Dave winced and attempted to shove him to no avail. Blaine's lips crashed roughly against his as Dave continued his attempts to pry the smaller boy off of him. Just as he got decent enough leverage to give a good, hard push, he felt Blaine's teeth sinking into his lower lip. Hard. He whimpered and gave another shove, this one sending Blaine reeling backwards.

Blaine stumbled back a few feet before righting himself. He stared expressionless at Dave.

"Wh-what the fuck is wrong with you?" Dave stuttered, wiping the wetness from his mouth and looking down to find blood on his hand. He licked his lip and was met with a metallic taste and a slight sting.

Blaine shook his head, a glimmer of something utterly terrifying in his eyes. "No, David. What's wrong with _you?_ You just _attacked_ me."

Dave stared in disbelief at Blaine. "You wouldn't-"

Blaine grinned like a killer about to plunge the knife into his latest victim. "Oh, but I would. I told you, I'm capable of so much more than you realize. I have to admit, this isn't really what I'd call a carefully thought out plan, I'm actually more or less winging it. But I'd say it's going well so far, wouldn't you?"

Dave clenched his fist and shifted slightly, and Blaine smirked. "Do you want to hit me now, David? Go ahead. It'll only add to my story of how you savagely forced yourself onto me."

"But I'm the one bleeding." Dave said, gesturing to his lip.

Blaine nodded. "Yes, well, that's because I bit you in a fearless attempt to get your hulking mass off of me. And in that endeavor, I was successful. Next I'm going to run for help with tears streaming down my face. Brilliant, no?"

Dave was wide-eyed gawking at Blaine. "You're unbelievable. You're fucking crazy. You can't possibly think that's gonna work."

Blaine shrugged. "Maybe I won't convince most of your loyal fanbase, but I'm okay with that. And let's not forget: you've already forced a kiss on Kurt before. It's not that much of a stretch to make him believe that you'd do the same and more to me."

Dave shook his head fervently. "No. I wouldn't- he'd never-" he fell silent suddenly, and Blaine's smirk turned into a wide grin.

"Let's be real here, David. Who do you really think Kurt's going to believe?" Blaine inquired snarkily. "_You_.." he snarled, his distaste apparent. "Or _me_?"

"I don't know." Dave said, gazing over Blaine's shoulder. "Why don't we ask him?"

Blaine spun around in the direction that Dave was looking and froze when his eyes locked on Kurt, standing in the doorway, positively seething.

"K-Kurt, um. How long have you been there?" Blaine half-mumbled, still frozen in place.

Kurt glared icily back at him. "Long enough."


End file.
